
The strong force inherently has such a high strength that hadrons bound by the strong force can produce new massive particles. In the latter context, it is often known as the color force. The strong interaction is observable at two ranges: on a larger scale (about 1 to 3 femtometers (fm)), it is the force that binds protons and neutrons (nucleons) together to form the nucleus of an atom. Most of the mass of a common proton or neutron is the result of the strong force field energy the individual quarks provide only about 1% of the mass of a proton.

In addition, the strong force binds neutrons and protons to create atomic nuclei.


The strong nuclear force holds most ordinary matter together because it confines quarks into hadron particles such as proton and neutron. In particle physics, the strong interaction is the mechanism responsible for the strong nuclear force (also called the strong force or nuclear strong force), and is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the weak interaction and gravitation.
