At fundamental forces of nature they are those that apparently cannot be described in more basic terms and are linked to the interactions present in all matter. There are four types of fundamental forces:
- gravitational;
- electromagnetic;
- strong;
- weak.
Each of these types of force acts on one or more types of particles and is mediated by different bosons. Check out the details of each of these types of interactions below.
gravitational force
The power gravitational it is only attractive and acts between all particles that have mass (fermions), but it's the moreweakof all forces of nature, being practically inexpressive at atomic and molecular levels. Despite its small intensity relative to other fundamental forces, it has the greatest range (extends to infinity) among all fundamental forces and is responsible for shaping planets, planetary systems, stars and even galaxies.
It is a force that "falls" with the inverse of the square of the distance. One of the challenges in physics today is to incorporate the gravitational force into
Quantum Mechanics. In this context, there are theories that claim that the gravitational force is mediated by an integer spin boson called the graviton. Currently, the gravitational force is explained from the Theory of General Relativity, from Albert Einstein, which claims that large masses are capable of distorting the geometry of spacetime. The property responsible for the intensity of this interaction is the mass of the bodies.electromagnetic force
the electromagnetic force can be both repulsive and attractive, with respect to the sign of the interacting loads. It acts between charged particles (such as protons and electrons) and includes the electrostatic force, described by Coulomb's Law, and the magnetic force, for moving particles. Compared to the gravitational force, it is much more intense and also acts over long distances (it also extends to infinity), however, the force resulting electrical at macroscopic levels tends to be null, due to the neutrality of matter, "losing" in this way to the interaction gravitational.
The electromagnetic force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, as is the gravitational force, and is mediated by the bosons called the photons, also responsible for the formation of electromagnetic fields. The property that measures the strength of this force is the electrical charge
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strong force
The curious name of this interaction is due to its great intensity: it is responsible for keeping the atomic nuclei together, despite the great electrostatic repulsion force existing between the protons. It's a short range force, about 10-15 m. Atomic nuclei much larger than this tend to be unstable, because, in this case, the electrostatic force is predominant.
It is the strongest of all interactions in nature and is mediated by bosons called gluons. In addition, the hadrons, like protons and neutrons, for example, are formed by trios of quarks, maintained exclusively by the action of the strong force, which is mediated by bosons called gluons. The strong force does not act between the leptons (electrons, neutrinos, muons, tauons), as they do not have the property that defines the strength of the strong force: the color charge.
weak strength
Weak interaction acts between the two types of fermions: leptons and quarks. It is the force responsible for the radioactive decay, performing the transformation of one type of quark into another through the emission of electrons or positrons (antimatter corresponding to the electron). It's about a million times weaker than the strong force, and its range is even smaller, at just 10-18 m. This interaction is mediated by the intermediate vector bosons W+, W- and Z.
The theory of Physics that brings together the interactions of nature, as well as its mediating and interacting particles, is the standard model of Particle Physics. The following figure shows the 17 fundamental particles:
By Rafael Hellerbrock
Graduated in Physics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
HELERBROCK, Rafael. "Fundamental Forces of Nature"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/forcas-fundamentais-natureza.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
