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

18550 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

How can I find out the Young's modulus of a material?


Alex's rocket lands after 4.56s and Billy's lands after 5.21s. What was the initial (maximum) vertical velocity of both of their rockets as they left the launchpad to 3s.f.?


Compare and contrast elastic and inelastic collisions


Given that a light ray enters a glass prism at angle of 50 degrees from the normal and is refracted to an angle of 30 degrees from the normal, calculate the speed of light in glass.


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