What keeps protons together in the nucleus?

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    Nucleus Protons
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the question of what keeps protons together in the nucleus of an atom, particularly in light of the repulsive forces between positively charged protons. Participants explore the nature of the forces at play, including the strong nuclear force and the role of neutrons.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that the strong nuclear force is responsible for holding protons together despite their positive charge, which causes them to repel each other.
  • Others mention that the interactions between quarks within protons, as described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), are fundamental to understanding these forces.
  • It is noted that neutrons play a crucial role in the nucleus by providing an attractive force that counteracts the repulsive Coulomb force between protons.
  • Participants discuss the short-range nature of the strong nuclear force and how it operates alongside the long-range Coulomb force, which tends to push protons apart.
  • Some contributions highlight the dual nature of forces acting on protons, distinguishing between the repulsive Coulomb force and the attractive residual strong nuclear force.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that both the strong nuclear force and the presence of neutrons are important for keeping protons together in the nucleus. However, there are varying interpretations of how these forces interact and the specifics of their mechanisms, indicating that multiple competing views remain.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the nature of forces and their ranges, as well as the dependence on definitions of the strong nuclear force and Coulomb force. There are unresolved details regarding the interactions at the quark level and the implications of Quantum Chromodynamics.

devanlevin
what causes the protons inside the atoms nucleus to stay together(next to one another), positive repels positive, therefore they should repel each other,
 
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The strong nuclear force - they do repel each other, that's why it has to be a strong force!

Although it's more correct to think of the forces between the quarks that make up protons, for details search for Quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
 
devanlevin said:
what causes the protons inside the atoms nucleus to stay together(next to one another), positive repels positive, therefore they should repel each other,
That's why there are neutrons in the nucleus. The nuclear force is short ranged so that the long range Coulomb force would repel the protons, but the neutrons provide an attractive force toholdd the nucleus together.
 
clem said:
That's why there are neutrons in the nucleus. The nuclear force is short ranged so that the long range Coulomb force would repel the protons, but the neutrons provide an attractive force toholdd the nucleus together.

The strong force affects neutrons and protons. The carriers of this force are gluons which work on quarks, leading to the force needed to hold nucleus together.
 
devanlevin said:
what causes the protons inside the atoms nucleus to stay together(next to one another), positive repels positive, therefore they should repel each other,
What folks are saying is that there are, in fact, two (for the sake of this discussion) kinds of forces acting between the protons.

This first is the familiar Coulomb force which you are familiar with: this makes the protons want to fly away from each other.

The second is an attractive force that counteracts this repulsion, and is known as the (residual) strong nuclear force. It is this force that helps keep the nucleus intact against the repulsion from the Coulomb force.
 

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