Nuclear Forces

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Gravity Noun

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[grav-i-tee]

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Gravity

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A fundamental force of attraction that exists between all objects with mass, dominant at large astronomical scales.

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Example: This diagram shows how a planet's orbit is a balance between its forward 'sideways motion' and the inward 'pull of gravity' from a star.

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Electromagnetism Noun

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[uh-lek-tro-mag-nuh-tiz-uhm]

Back

Electromagnetism

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A fundamental force governing interactions between electrically charged particles, responsible for electricity, magnetism, and chemical bonds.

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Example: Wrapping a wire carrying an electric current from a battery around an iron nail creates a magnetic field, turning the nail into an electromagnet.

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Strong Force Noun

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[strong fors]

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Strong Force

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The strongest of the four fundamental forces, which binds quarks together to form protons and neutrons.

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Example: The strong nuclear force is an attractive force that holds protons and neutrons together in the nucleus, overcoming the electrostatic repulsion between positively charged protons.

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Weak Force Noun

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[week fors]

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Weak Force

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A fundamental force that governs the radioactive decay of subatomic particles and initiates processes like nuclear fusion.

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Example: The weak force causes a neutron to change (decay) into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino.

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Nucleus Noun

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[noo-klee-uhs]

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Nucleus

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The dense, positively charged central region of an atom, which is composed of protons and neutrons.

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Example: The nucleus is the central part of an atom, containing positively charged protons and neutral neutrons, all held together by strong nuclear forces.

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Quark Noun

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[kwark]

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Quark

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An elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter that combines to form composite particles called hadrons.

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Example: This diagram shows that quarks are fundamental particles that combine to form larger particles, like a proton, which is made of two 'up' quarks and one 'down' quark.

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Meson Noun

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[mee-zon]

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Meson

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A subatomic particle composed of one quark and one antiquark, which are bound together by the strong force.

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Example: This diagram shows that a meson (like a pion) is a particle made of one quark and one antiquark bound together.

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Baryon Noun

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[bar-ee-on]

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Baryon

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A type of composite subatomic particle which contains an odd number of valence quarks, typically three.

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Example: This diagram shows a neutron, a type of baryon, is made of three smaller particles called quarks (one 'up' and two 'down').

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Gluon Noun

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[gloo-on]

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Gluon

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The elementary particle that acts as the exchange particle or force carrier for the strong force between quarks.

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Example: This diagram shows that gluons, represented as springs, are the particles that hold smaller particles called quarks together inside protons and neutrons.

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Hadron Noun

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[had-ron]

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Hadron

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A composite particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong force, like protons or neutrons.

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Example: This diagram shows that Hadrons are a family of particles that includes Baryons (made of three quarks) and Mesons (made of a quark-antiquark pair).