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What is Strong Force vs Gravitational Force – Definition

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The strong force and the gravitational force are two the four fundamental forces. They are very different. This article summarizes these differences. 

Strong Interaction – Strong Force

The strong interaction or strong force is one of the four fundamental forces and involves the exchange of the vector gauge bosons known as gluons. In general, the strong interaction is very complicated interaction, because it significantly varies with distance. The strong nuclear force holds most ordinary matter together because it confines quarks into hadron particles such as the proton and neutron. Moreover, the strong force is the force which can hold a nucleus together against the enormous forces of repulsion (electromagnetic force) of the protons is strong indeed. From this point of view, we have to distinguish between:

  • Fundamental Strong Force. The fundamental strong force, or the strong force, is a very short range (less than about 0.8 fm, the radius of a nucleon) force, that acts directly between quarks. This force holds quarks together to form protons, neutrons, and other hadron particles. The strong interaction is mediated by the exchange of massless particles called gluons that act between quarks, antiquarks, and other gluons.
  • Residual Strong Force. The residual strong force, also known as the nuclear force, is a very short range (about 1 to 3 fm) force, which acts to hold neutrons and protons together in nuclei. In nuclei, this force acts against the enormous repulsive electromagnetic force of the protons. The term residual is associated with the fact, it is the residuum of the fundamental strong interaction between the quarks that make up the protons and neutrons. The residual strong force acts indirectly through the virtual π and ρ mesons, which transmit the force between nucleons that holds the nucleus together.

Gravitational Interaction – Gravitational Force

Gravity was the first force to be investigated scientifically. The gravitational force was described systematically by Isaac Newton in the 17th century. Newton stated that the gravitational force acts between all objects having mass (including objects ranging from atoms and photons, to planets and stars) and is directly proportional to the masses of the bodies and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the bodies. Since energy and mass are equivalent, all forms of energy (including light) cause gravitation and are under the influence of it. The range of this force is ∞ and it is weaker than the other forces. This relationship is shown in the equation below.

The equation illustrates that the larger the masses of the objects or the smaller the distance between the objects, the greater the gravitational force. So even though the masses of nucleons are very small, the fact that the distance between nucleons is extremely short may make the gravitational force significant. The gravitational force between two protons that are separated by a distance of 10-20 meters is about 10-24 newtons. Gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental forces of physics, approximately 1038 times weaker than the strong force. On the other hand, gravity is additive. Every speck of matter that you put into a lump contributes to the overall overall gravity of the lump. Since it is also a very long range force, it is dominant force at the macroscopic scale, and is the cause of the formation, shape and trajectory (orbit) of astronomical bodies.

Strong Force vs Gravitational Force

Fundamental Interactions and Fundamental Forces

 

References:
Nuclear and Reactor Physics:
  1. J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
  2. J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
  3. W. M. Stacey, Nuclear Reactor Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN: 0- 471-39127-1.
  4. Glasstone, Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Systems Engineering, Springer; 4th edition, 1994, ISBN: 978-0412985317
  5. W.S.C. Williams. Nuclear and Particle Physics. Clarendon Press; 1 edition, 1991, ISBN: 978-0198520467
  6. G.R.Keepin. Physics of Nuclear Kinetics. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co; 1st edition, 1965
  7. Robert Reed Burn, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Operation, 1988.
  8. U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.
  9. Paul Reuss, Neutron Physics. EDP Sciences, 2008. ISBN: 978-2759800414.

Advanced Reactor Physics:

  1. K. O. Ott, W. A. Bezella, Introductory Nuclear Reactor Statics, American Nuclear Society, Revised edition (1989), 1989, ISBN: 0-894-48033-2.
  2. K. O. Ott, R. J. Neuhold, Introductory Nuclear Reactor Dynamics, American Nuclear Society, 1985, ISBN: 0-894-48029-4.
  3. D. L. Hetrick, Dynamics of Nuclear Reactors, American Nuclear Society, 1993, ISBN: 0-894-48453-2.
  4. E. E. Lewis, W. F. Miller, Computational Methods of Neutron Transport, American Nuclear Society, 1993, ISBN: 0-894-48452-4.

See also:

Strong Force

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