Nature's Strongest Force

Journal Article · 01 May 2024 · Scientific American

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0524-32 · OSTI ID:2454963

Deur, Alexandre ^[1]; Brodsky, Stanley J. ^[2]; Roberts, Craig D. ^[3]

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1. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)
2. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES)
3. Nanjing Univ. (China)

The strongest force in the universe is called, aptly, the strong force. We never get to witness its fearsome power because it works only across subatomic distances, where it binds quarks together inside protons and neutrons and joins those nucleons into atomic nuclei. Of the four basic forces of nature, the strong force is by far the most potent—it’s 100 trillion trillion trillion times stronger than the force of gravity. Additionally, it’s also the most mysterious.

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-06OR23177
• OSTI ID: 2454963
• Report Number(s): DOE/OR/23177-7701; JLAB-PHY--24-4034
• Journal Information: Scientific American, Journal Name: Scientific American Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 330; ISSN 0036-8733
• Publisher: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English