Isotopes are considered stable when the strong overcomes the electrostatic repulsion between force positively charged what?

Answer 1

When the strong nuclear force between nuclear protons and neutrons overcomes electrostatic repulsion between protons.

As far as I know (and certainly my understanding is not sophisticated!), in the nucleus there is an exchange between the massive particles, protons and neutrons, such that the electrostatic attraction between like charges is overcome and an attractive, binding force operates. This binding interaction is VERY short range; i.e. we talk about nuclear distances. You might get a more nuanced answer in the Physics section.

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Answer 2

Naomi Aronson

When the strong nuclear force triumphs over the electrostatic repulsion between positively charged protons in the atomic nucleus, the isotope is said to be stable.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.