or strong nuclear force
Fundamental force acting between elementary particles of matter, mainly
The strong force binds quarks together in clusters to form protons and neutrons and heavier short-lived particles. It holds together the atomic {{link=nucleus">nucleus and underlies interactions among all particles containing quarks. In strong interactions, quarks exchange gluons, carriers of the strong force, which are massless particles with one unit of intrinsic spin . Within its short range (about 10 -15 m), the strong force appears to become stronger with distance. At such distances, the strong interaction between quarks is about 100 times greater than the electromagnetic force .