strong force
3
7.3
- noun
- /strɔŋ fɔrs/
- Specialized
:
fuerza fuerte
- Axion: A particle hypothesized by physicists to handle certain problems arising in the modeling of the strong force, the force that keeps atomic nuclei from flying apart.
But they're confined to a tiny space by the strong force.
- But they're confined to a tiny space by the strong force.
- Gluons are the the particles of the strong force.
- So we have those four forces, a strong force, the weak force, the radiation force, the electromagnetic force and gravity.
Examples
-
Here, another fundamental force, the strong force, emerges.
Academic text (2006) -
The strong force combines about one-fourth of the available protons and neutrons into nuclei of elements heavier than hydrogen.
Academic text (2000) -
Or we can move on from the strong force and test the other types of forces.
-
"Color charge is the source of the strong force, much the way electric charge is the source of the electromagnetic force.
Academic text (2006) -
They've got their own strong force inside holding them together.
-
So the more accurate name for the strong force is the color, or "chromodynamic," force.
Academic text (2006) -
The answer comes from a surprising direction: the weakness of gravity compared to the strength of the strong force.
Academic text (2006) -
In its rawest form, the strong force acts between quarks and confines them within protons and neutrons.
Academic text (2006) -
Today the weak force controls some kinds of radioactive decay, the strong force holds the nucleus together, the electromagnetic force binds molecules, and gravity operates on bulk matter.
Academic text (2003) -
The nuclear strong force is essential for holding protons and neutrons together in the atom's nucleus.
Synonyms
A force inside atoms that holds protons and neutrons together
A force that holds protons and neutrons together inside atomic nuclei
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally interpretable as 'a force that is strong', so a B1 learner who knows 'strong' and 'force' will likely infer it denotes a powerful force. However, the precise technical meaning — the specific nuclear force binding protons and neutrons and mediated by gluons — is specialist knowledge not derivable from the words alone, so the relation is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Strong force paints a simple picture: a very strong force that acts like a tiny 'glue' at the center of an atom. Tiny particles called gluons hold protons and neutrons together, so the name explains why it 'holds the center of the atom together'.