Nuclear
force is the force that binds the neutrons and protons in a nucleus together.
This force can exist between neutrons and neutrons, neutrons and protons or
protons and protons. This force is what holds the nucleus together. The positive
charge of protons tends to push them away from each other with a strong
electric field repulsive force, following Coulomb’s law. But nuclear force
is strong enough to overcome that resistance at short range and keep them
together.
Properties
- The range of nuclear force is very short. The nuclear force is much stronger within 1 Fermi range between the nucleons than the repulsive Coulomb’s force that pushes the protons away. However, if the distance is anything more than 2.5 Fermi, nuclear force is practically non-existent.
- Nuclear force is identical for all nucleons. It does not matter if it is a neutron or proton, once the Coulomb resistance is taken into consideration, nuclear force affects everything in the same way.
- This force becomes repulsive at a distance less than 0.7 Fermi. It is one of the most interesting properties of nuclear force, as this repulsive component of the force is what decides the size of the nucleus. The nucleons come closer to each other till the point that the force allows, after which they cannot come any closer because of the repulsive property of the force.
