What are the major differences between the four fundamental forces?

Question

Hailey Alvarez · Accepted Answer

The major differences between the four fundamental forces are their relative strengths and the range over which they act.

Strong nuclear force, electromagnetic force, weak nuclear force, and gravitational force are the four fundamental forces. Protons and neutrons are made up of three quarks held together by the color confinement force; therefore, the strong force can be regarded as the residual color force of each proton and neutron. This explains why the strong force is so short-ranged. The strongest of them is the Strong Nuclear Force, which holds the nucleus of atoms together despite the enormous repulsion between the similar charges of protons in the nucleus. The second strongest fundamental force is called the electromagnetic force, which was created in 1873 by James Clerk Maxwell after electricity and magnetism were previously thought to be two distinct forces. It has an infinite range, but its strength decreases quickly with distance because it is repulsive between like charges and obeys the inverse square law. It holds atoms and molecules together and is so strong at the atomic level that it dominates the other three forces. Weak Nuclear Force involves the exchange of W and Z bosons. It has a very short range, typically between #10^-17# to #10^-16# meters. At #10^18# meters, the weak force can be as strong as the electromagnetic force, but its strength decreases exponentially with increasing distance. The weak force is responsible for the change of flavor of quarks. Of all the fundamental forces, the gravitational force has the longest range and is the weakest. It obeys the inverse square law just like the electromagnetic force, but because it is always attractive, it is not cancelled out.

Ariana Acosta · Answer

undefined The four fundamental forces are gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force.

1. Gravity is a long-range force that acts between all masses, causing attraction between objects with mass.
2. Electromagnetism is also a long-range force, responsible for interactions between electrically charged particles and magnetic fields.
3. The weak nuclear force governs interactions involving particles like neutrinos and is responsible for processes such as beta decay.
4. The strong nuclear force is a short-range force responsible for binding quarks together to form protons and neutrons, and it also holds atomic nuclei together.