Comparison of strong nuclear force and electromagnetic force

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SUMMARY

The strong nuclear force is significantly stronger than the electromagnetic force, particularly at the scale of quark confinement, where it operates independently of the inverse distance squared principle. At extremely small distances, such as those within protons and neutrons, the strong force can be many orders of magnitude stronger than the electromagnetic force, rendering the latter negligible. Additionally, the strong force plays a crucial role in nuclear binding, effectively counteracting the electromagnetic repulsion between positively charged protons within the nucleus, making it approximately 2 to 3 orders of magnitude stronger than the electromagnetic force at this range.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of fundamental forces in physics
  • Knowledge of quark confinement and nuclear binding
  • Familiarity with the concept of inverse distance squared in force calculations
  • Basic grasp of particle physics and atomic structure
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the mechanisms of quark confinement in quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
  • Explore the implications of nuclear binding energy in atomic stability
  • Study the differences between fundamental forces in particle physics
  • Investigate the role of the strong force in nuclear reactions and decay
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Students and professionals in physics, particularly those focused on particle physics, nuclear physics, and anyone interested in the fundamental interactions governing atomic structure.

clallier
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How much stronger is the strong nuclear force compared it to the electromagnetic force beyond what could be accounted for by the inverse of the distance squared?
 
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clallier said:
How much stronger is the strong nuclear force compared it to the electromagnetic force beyond what could be accounted for by the inverse of the distance squared?

Welcome to PhysicsForums, clallier!

It is a bit difficult to answer your question since these 2 forces do not operate using the same mechanism. The strongest component of the strong force would be considered quark confinement, which does not actually operate on the basis of inverse distance squared. Instead, it gets stronger to a point as distance increases (and we are talking very small distances, the size of a proton/neutron). This is many orders of magnitude stronger than the electromagnetic force, so much so that the EM force is negligible at this range.

The other well-known component of the strong force is nuclear binding, which is what keeps the positive charges in the nucleus together despite their electromagnetic repulsion. At the range of the nucleus, the strong force is perhaps 2 or 3 orders of magnitude stronger than the EM force although again, they are not directly comparable.

See this for some more detail information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_interaction
 

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