How strong is the strong force?

In summary, the conversation discusses the concept of force in relation to quantum particles, specifically the strong force and its role in holding particles together against repulsive electrostatic forces. It is noted that the strength of the strong force is not a fixed number and is described by a more complicated function. The nuclear potential, which is responsible for binding particles, is also mentioned and its complexity is highlighted. It is concluded that the concept of force may not be helpful in understanding quantum mechanics and that other factors such as potentials and energy should be considered. The conversation also briefly mentions the relative strengths of the fundamental forces in QFT and the domain of Quantum Chromodynamics in studying the behavior of nucleons interacting through the strong force.
  • #1
Nerdydude101
54
0
I got to wondering about this the other day so I tried looking it up but I could not find anything. All j could find was that it had a maximum force of 10,00N. I tried to calculate the electrostatic force of a helium atom because if the strong force has to hold the atoms nuclei together jt has to be at least in equilibrium with the electrostatic force, but tbat came up to be 230.4N. So now I am left with 230.4<FS<10,000. How do I calculate the actual strong force or did I miss something or what? Thanks for the help!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
yes, that the "force" as a "force" is meaningless for quantum particles.
 
  • #3
What is my misunderstanding then? I thought the string firce was what held the particles together against the repulsive electrostatic force
 
  • #4
The strength of the strong force, in Newtons, is not a fixed number, just like the strength of the electrostatic force. It's a rather more complicated function than the Coulomb function, and you can find a simplified graph at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_force
 
  • #5
I'd say that you don't have a string force...In general I am not finding the concept of "force" helpful in quantum mechanics, neither in QFTs. In both cases the potentials work better, since they are directly connected to energy. Then this "hold together particles" are described by "bound states". rather than "cancelling forces".
The cancelling forces for example, for what I think at the moment, requires to have a localized particle at some distance and thus calculate a force... However the particle can be not localized (in an energy eigenstate rather than in a position one).
Finally the nuclear potential is rather a complicated structure, it contains many terms some coming from theory and others from experiment, with many parameters which are determined experimentally and so on... there can be 14 terms (older Argonne potential) and so on.

Also you can see that coulomb is not enough if you try to think for why there is no bound state of neutron-neutron (no coulomb interaction between each other)
 
Last edited:
  • #6
You can't really assign a fixed number, like Vanadium 50 said, but what you can do is compare the relative strengths of the fundamental forces in QFT with something called the coupling constant. Then, you can say that (approximately), the strong force is 1038 times stronger than gravitation, and the electromagnetic force is 1036 times stronger than gravitation (and weak is 1025 times stronger than gravitation).

Calculating the behaviour of nucleons interacting through the strong force is the domain of Quantum Chromodynamics.
 

1. What is the strong force?

The strong force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, along with gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak force. It is responsible for holding the nucleus of an atom together by binding protons and neutrons together through the exchange of particles called gluons.

2. How strong is the strong force compared to the other fundamental forces?

The strong force is the strongest of all the fundamental forces. It is approximately 100 times stronger than the electromagnetic force and 10,000 times stronger than the weak force. However, it only acts over very short distances, making it less noticeable in everyday life.

3. Can the strong force be seen or measured?

No, the strong force cannot be seen or measured directly. However, its effects can be observed through experiments and calculations in the field of quantum mechanics.

4. How does the strong force work?

The strong force works by binding quarks, the building blocks of protons and neutrons, together through the exchange of gluons. This creates a strong attraction between quarks, which keeps them together in the nucleus of an atom.

5. Can the strength of the strong force be changed?

No, the strength of the strong force is a fundamental constant and cannot be changed. However, it can be affected by the distance between particles and the number of particles involved in the interaction.

Similar threads

I Why the binding energy per nucleon has specific pattern?
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
2
Views
709
B The Strong Nuclear Force: Is my understanding correct?
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
14
Views
3K
I Question about gluons and nucleon binding
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
5
Views
1K
I Strong and Weak Nuclear forces at long ranges
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
2
Views
1K
B Question about the Nuclear Strong Force
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
10
Views
2K
B What’s the necessity of the strong force?
    • Quantum Physics
Replies
2
Views
744
B Mechanism for Energy Released via the Strong Force in Fusion
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
3
Views
1K
Questions on the Strong Nuclear Force
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
2
Views
1K
B Coulomb Force: Is my understanding correct?
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
2
Replies
40
Views
5K
B Basic definition: Nuclear Fusion & Fission
    • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
5
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top