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  • Understand the four basic forces that underlie the processes in nature.

One of the most remarkable simplifications in physics is that only four distinct forces account for all known phenomena. In fact, nearly all of the forces we experience directly are due to only one basic force, called the electromagnetic force. (The gravitational force is the only force we experience directly that is not electromagnetic.) This is a tremendous simplification of the myriad of apparently different forces we can list, only a few of which were discussed in the previous section. As we will see, the basic forces are all thought to act through the exchange of microscopic carrier particles, and the characteristics of the basic forces are determined by the types of particles exchanged. Action at a distance, such as the gravitational force of Earth on the Moon, is explained by the existence of a force field    rather than by “physical contact.”

The four basic forces are the gravitational force, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force. Their properties are summarized in [link] . Since the weak and strong nuclear forces act over an extremely short range, the size of a nucleus or less, we do not experience them directly, although they are crucial to the very structure of matter. These forces determine which nuclei are stable and which decay, and they are the basis of the release of energy in certain nuclear reactions. Nuclear forces determine not only the stability of nuclei, but also the relative abundance of elements in nature. The properties of the nucleus of an atom determine the number of electrons it has and, thus, indirectly determine the chemistry of the atom. More will be said of all of these topics in later chapters.

Concept connections: the four basic forces

The four basic forces will be encountered in more detail as you progress through the text.

Properties of the four basic forces The graviton is a proposed particle, though it has not yet been observed by scientists. See the discussion of gravitational waves later in this section. The particles W + size 12{W rSup { size 8{+{}} } } {} , W size 12{W rSup { size 8{ - {}} } } {} , and Z 0 size 12{Z rSup { size 8{0} } } {} are called vector bosons; these were predicted by theory and first observed in 1983. There are eight types of gluons proposed by scientists, and their existence is indicated by meson exchange in the nuclei of atoms.
Force Approximate Relative Strengths Range Attraction/Repulsion Carrier Particle
Gravitational 10 38 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "38"} } } {} size 12{ infinity } {} attractive only Graviton
Electromagnetic 10 2 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 2} } } {} size 12{ infinity } {} attractive and repulsive Photon
Weak nuclear 10 13 < 10 –18 m attractive and repulsive W + size 12{W rSup { size 8{+{}} } } {} , W size 12{W rSup { size 8{ - {}} } } {} , Z 0 size 12{Z rSup { size 8{0} } } {}
Strong nuclear 1 < 10 –15 m attractive and repulsive gluons

The gravitational force is surprisingly weak—it is only because gravity is always attractive that we notice it at all. Our weight is the gravitational force due to the entire Earth acting on us. On the very large scale, as in astronomical systems, the gravitational force is the dominant force determining the motions of moons, planets, stars, and galaxies. The gravitational force also affects the nature of space and time. As we shall see later in the study of general relativity, space is curved in the vicinity of very massive bodies, such as the Sun, and time actually slows down near massive bodies.

Practice Key Terms 2

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Source:  OpenStax, Concepts of physics. OpenStax CNX. Aug 25, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11738/1.5
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