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On a scale less than about 0.8 fm (roughly the radius of a nucleon), the force is carried by gluons and holds quarks together to form protons, neutrons, and other hadrons. On a larger scale, up to about 3 fm, the force is carried by mesons and binds nucleons (protons and neutrons) together to form the nucleus of an atom. [2]
Energy is released when a heavy nucleus breaks apart into two or more lighter nuclei. This energy is the internucleon potential energy that is released when the nuclear force no longer holds the charged nuclear fragments together. [3] [4] A quantitative description of the nuclear force relies on equations that are partly empirical. These ...
The nuclear force holding an atomic nucleus together is very strong, in general much stronger than the repulsive electromagnetic forces between the protons. However, the nuclear force is also short-range, dropping quickly in strength beyond about 3 femtometers, while the electromagnetic force has an unlimited range. The strength of the ...
Almost all of the mass of an atom is located in the nucleus, with a very small contribution from the electron cloud. Protons and neutrons are bound together to form a nucleus by the nuclear force. The diameter of the nucleus is in the range of 1.70 fm (1.70 × 10 −15 m [7]) for hydrogen (the diameter of a single proton) to about 11.7 fm for ...
In physics and chemistry, a nucleon is either a proton or a neutron, considered in its role as a component of an atomic nucleus. The number of nucleons in a nucleus defines the atom's mass number (nucleon number). Until the 1960s, nucleons were thought to be elementary particles, not made up of smaller parts.
The center of the atom contains a tight ball of neutrons and protons, which is held together by the strong nuclear force, unless it is too large. Unstable nuclei may undergo alpha decay, in which they emit an energetic helium nucleus, or beta decay, in which they eject an electron (or positron). After one of these decays the resultant nucleus ...
From theoretical considerations, in 1934 Hideki Yukawa [5] [6] predicted the existence and the approximate mass of the "meson" as the carrier of the nuclear force that holds atomic nuclei together. [7] If there were no nuclear force, all nuclei with two or more protons would fly apart due to electromagnetic repulsion.
In alpha decay, a particle containing two protons and two neutrons, equivalent to a He nucleus, breaks out of the parent nucleus. The process represents a competition between the electromagnetic repulsion between the protons in the nucleus and attractive nuclear force, a residual of the strong interaction. The alpha particle is an especially ...