Describe how the strong nuclear force between nucleons varies with seperation of the nucleons.

At short distances between the nucleons at roughly 3 femtometers or so, the strong nuclear force between two nucleons begins to overcome the electrostatic repulsion (if both or one nucleon is a proton). The strong force then becomes it's strongest at roughly 1.5 femtometers, hence meaning that is the typical seperation between two nucleons. At even shorter distances than that the force then starts to become a repulsive force at roughly 0.2 femtometers or so, this is to prevent the nucleons from colliding into a singlarity. 

RW
Answered by Rebecca W. Physics tutor

18476 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

A ball is dropped from rest from a window 3m above ground height. How long will it take the ball to hit the ground? (You may assume air resistance on the ball is negligible.)


How can an object be accelerating when it's velocity is constant, and how does centripetal acceleration work.


What determines the acoustic impedance of a material and why is it useful in understanding ultrasound imaging?


A sigma0 particle with mass 1193 MeV/c^2 decays into a lambda0 particle with mass 1116 MeV/c^2 a photon. Find the energy and momentum of the photon, assuming that the kinetic energy of the lambda0 particle is negligible.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning