Planets in our solar system orbit the sun due to various forces. These forces, which differ in strength, are fundamental to the structure and stability of the universe. The strongest of these is the strong nuclear force, which will be the main focus of this article, along with the roles of other significant forces.
What is the strongest force in the universe?
The most powerful force in the universe is the strong nuclear force. It is about 10^38 times greater than gravity that helps us stand and walk. The value of this force is estimated around 10,000 newtons to get an idea of its strength. It influences many processes in our daily life. This strong interaction holds the building blocks of atoms together. It works between a distance of about 0.8×10-15 meters which is smaller than the distances smaller than atoms. It keeps the subatomic particles, such as neutrons and protons, in a specific position.
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It also works at an even smaller scale, where it binds the oppositely charged quarks which make up the subatomic particles together. No other fundamental force is more powerful than the strong nuclear force.
What is a force?
A force is a push or a pull that an object experiences because of its interaction with other objects. It drives many types of motions and movements. Any kind of interaction between objects is a result of multiple forces acting on them. From playing basketball to driving a car, and from launching a rocket to blowing a candle, all of our daily life activities involve forces.
Why are forces important?
It would be difficult imagining a world where everything is stationary with no bouncing basketballs or speeding cars. That would be the world without forces! Force is an invisible power that is responsible for pushing and pulling things and keeping the universe intact. Some of the significant functions of forces are that they make things move, hold them in place. All the different types of forces around us shape our universe!
What are the four fundamental forces that exist in the universe?
The most fundamental and basic forces around us are gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Following is some brief but interesting description of the aforementioned forces.
Gravity
Gravity is the attractive force among two objects which draws them together across infinite distances. It is the force with which the earth is holding everything on its surface.
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is the interaction between charged particles which produce a magnetic field. The electromagnetic force can both be repulsive or attractive.
Strong Nuclear Force
The fundamental force that holds together the building blocks of atoms, and is responsible for the stability of matter. It effectively works between a distance of about 0.8×10-15 meters.
Weak Nuclear Force
The weak nuclear force is responsible for the interactions between the subatomic particles, i.e. the tiny particles like protons, neutrons, and electrons. It is effective between a distance of around 0.1×10-17 meters.
Comparison of Strong Nuclear Force with other Fundamental Force
| Fundamental Forces | Comparison with Strong Nuclear Force |
| Gravity | The relative value of gravity as compared to strong nuclear force is 10-43. It means gravity is trillion trillion trillion times weaker than strong nuclear force. |
| Electromagnetism | The strong interaction is about 100 times more powerful than the electromagnetic force. |
| Weak Nuclear Force | The strong nuclear force is 100000 times greater than the weak nuclear force. |
How does the strong nuclear force work?
Everything in this universe is made up of small particles called quarks. These are the building blocks of the neutrons and protons. The strong nuclear force works as a superglue that holds these quarks together! Tiny particles called gluons are responsible for this bond and serve as messengers between these quarks. This is the strongest force that exists in the universe and it works at small distances.
