Editing Strong interaction (section)

{{Short description|Binding of quarks in subatomic particles}}
{{Redirect|Color force|the company|Color Force}}
[[File:Gluon_tube-color_confinement_animation.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|An animation of [[color confinement]], a property of the strong interaction. If energy is supplied to the quarks as shown, the [[gluon]] tube connecting [[Quark|quarks]] elongates until it reaches a point where it "snaps" and the energy added to the system results in the formation of a quark–[[antiquark]] pair. Thus single quarks are never seen in isolation.]]
[[File:Nuclear_Force_anim_smaller.gif|thumb|An animation of the strong interaction between a proton and a neutron, mediated by [[Pion|pions]]. The colored small double circles inside are [[gluon]]s.]]

In [[nuclear physics]] and [[particle physics]], the '''strong interaction''', also called the '''strong force''' or '''strong nuclear force''', is one of the four known [[fundamental interaction|fundamental interactions]]. It confines [[Quark|quarks]] into [[proton|protons]], [[neutron|neutrons]], and other [[hadron]] particles, and also binds neutrons and protons to create atomic nuclei, where it is called the [[nuclear force]].

Most of the [[mass–energy equivalence|mass]] of a [[proton]] or [[neutron]] is the result of the strong interaction energy; the individual quarks provide only about 1% of the mass of a proton. At the range of 10<sup>−15</sup>&nbsp;m (1 [[femtometer]], slightly more than the radius of a [[nucleon]]), the strong force is approximately 100 times as strong as [[electromagnetism]], 10<sup>6</sup> times as strong as the [[weak interaction]], and 10<sup>38</sup> times as strong as [[Gravity|gravitation]].<ref>Relative strength of interaction varies with distance. See for instance [[Matt Strassler]]'s essay, [http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physics-basics/the-known-forces-of-nature/the-strength-of-the-known-forces/ "The strength of the known forces"].</ref>

In the context of atomic nuclei, the force binds protons and neutrons together to form a nucleus and is called the [[nuclear force]] (or ''residual strong force'').<ref name="auto"/> Because the force is mediated by massive, short lived [[mesons]] on this scale, the residual strong interaction obeys a distance-dependent behavior between nucleons that is quite different from when it is acting to bind quarks within hadrons. There are also differences in the [[binding energy|binding energies]] of the nuclear force with regard to [[nuclear fusion]] versus [[nuclear fission]]. Nuclear fusion accounts for most energy production in the [[Sun]] and other [[star]]s. Nuclear fission allows for decay of radioactive elements and [[isotope]]s, although it is often mediated by the weak interaction. Artificially, the energy associated with the nuclear force is partially released in [[nuclear power]] and [[nuclear weapons]], both in [[uranium]] or [[plutonium]]-based fission weapons and in fusion weapons like the [[hydrogen bomb]].<ref>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218195010/https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Nuclear%20Processes%20The%20Strong%20Force.pdf | access-date=2023-10-03 | archive-date=2012-12-18 | title=Chapter 4 Nuclear Processes, The Strong Force | last=Ragheb | first=Magdi | publisher=University of Illinois | url= https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Nuclear%20Processes%20The%20Strong%20Force.pdf | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230528145648/http://www.furryelephant.com/content/radioactivity/binding-energy-mass-defect/ | access-date=2023-10-03 | archive-date=2023-05-28 | title=Lesson 13: Binding energy and mass defect | author=<!--Not stated--> | website=Furry Elephant physics educational site | url= http://www.furryelephant.com/content/radioactivity/binding-energy-mass-defect/ | url-status=dead}}</ref>