Fundamental forces

Home > Physics > High-energy physics > Fundamental forces

The four fundamental forces of nature are the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, electromagnetism, and gravity. These forces govern the behavior of all particles in the universe.

Electromagnetism: The force inherent to electromagnetic fields, which includes electric charges and magnetic fields.
Gravity: The force that holds objects together and influences their motion, dependent on the mass and distance between objects.
Strong nuclear force: The force responsible for holding atomic nuclei together, overcoming the repulsion of positively charged protons.
Weak nuclear force: The force responsible for some types of radioactive decay, including beta decay.
Quantum mechanics: The study of the behavior and properties of particles at the quantum scale, where classical physics breaks down.
Particle physics: The study of the fundamental particles and their interactions at the smallest scales.
Special relativity: The study of the relationships between space and time in the absence of gravitational force.
General relativity: The study of the relationships between space, time, and gravitational force.
Standard Model: The theoretical framework that describes the particles and their interactions, including the electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear forces.
Quantum field theory: The theory that describes the behavior of particles in terms of fields that permeate space and time.
Symmetry: The study of patterns that are preserved in certain physical phenomena.
Supersymmetry: A proposed extension of the Standard Model that posits a symmetry between fermions and bosons.
String theory: A theoretical framework that attempts to unify gravity with the other fundamental forces by describing particles as one-dimensional strings.
Grand Unified Theory (GUT): A proposed theory that unifies the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces.
Beyond the Standard Model: Various proposals for extensions or revisions to the Standard Model that incorporate new physics beyond what is currently known.
Gravity: A force that exists between any two objects with mass. It is the weakest of the four fundamental forces, but acts over infinite distances.
Electromagnetic force: A force that exists between electrically charged particles, including particles that have a magnetic field. It is responsible for most of the forces we observe in our daily lives, such as friction, and is the force behind magnetism and electricity.
Weak nuclear force: A force that is responsible for certain types of nuclear decay. It is very weak and only operates at a very short range.
Strong nuclear force: A force that is responsible for holding atomic nuclei together. It is the strongest of the four forces, but only operates at very short distances inside the nucleus.
"gravity, electromagnetism, weak interaction, strong interaction"
"The gravitational and electromagnetic interactions produce long-range forces"
"The strong and weak interactions produce forces at minuscule, subatomic distances and govern nuclear interactions inside atoms."
"Some scientists hypothesize that a fifth force might exist, but these hypotheses remain speculative."
"Each of the known fundamental interactions can be described mathematically as a field."
"The gravitational force is attributed to the curvature of spacetime, described by Einstein's general theory of relativity."
"The strong interaction is carried by a particle called the gluon."
"The weak interaction is carried by particles called W and Z bosons."
"The electromagnetic force, carried by the photon, creates electric and magnetic fields."
"Although the electromagnetic force is far stronger than gravity, it tends to cancel itself out within large objects, so over large (astronomical) distances gravity tends to be the dominant force."
"Devising a common theoretical framework that would explain the relation between the forces in a single theory is perhaps the greatest goal of today's theoretical physicists."
"Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, and Steven Weinberg received the 1979 Nobel Prize in physics."
"Some physicists seek to unite the electroweak and strong fields within what is called a Grand Unified Theory (GUT)."
"An even bigger challenge is to find a way to quantize the gravitational field, resulting in a theory of quantum gravity (QG) which would unite gravity in a common theoretical framework with the other three forces."
"Some theories, notably string theory, seek both QG and GUT within one framework, unifying all four fundamental interactions along with mass generation within a theory of everything (ToE)."
"The strong interaction is responsible for quarks binding together to form hadrons."
"The weak interaction acts on the nucleus of atoms, mediating radioactive decay."
"The electromagnetic force creates electric and magnetic fields, which are responsible for the attraction between orbital electrons and atomic nuclei which holds atoms together."
"The gravitational and electromagnetic interactions produce long-range forces whose effects can be seen directly in everyday life."
"Gravity is responsible for holding together the large-scale structures in the universe, such as planets, stars, and galaxies."