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Chapter 22: Problem 8

Of the four fundamental forces in nature, which one depends on electric charge? a. gravitational force b. electromagnetic force c. strong nuclear force d. weak nuclear force

Short Answer

Expert verified
b. electromagnetic force

Step by step solution

01

Identify the Four Fundamental Forces

The four fundamental forces in nature are: gravitational force, electromagnetic force, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force.
02

Understand the Gravitational Force

The gravitational force depends on mass and the distance between two objects. It does not depend on electric charge.
03

Understand the Electromagnetic Force

The electromagnetic force depends on electric charges. It acts between charged particles, such as electrons and protons.
04

Understand the Strong Nuclear Force

The strong nuclear force acts between particles within the atomic nucleus, such as protons and neutrons, and does not depend on electric charge.
05

Understand the Weak Nuclear Force

The weak nuclear force is responsible for radioactive decay and neutrino interactions. It does not depend on electric charge.
06

Select the Correct Option

Based on the analysis, the force that depends on electric charge is the electromagnetic force.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Gravitational Force
The gravitational force is one of the four fundamental forces in nature that governs the attraction between objects with mass. It is the force that makes objects fall to the ground, and it keeps the planets orbiting around the sun.
Unlike other forces, it does not depend on electric charge but rather on two main factors:
  • Mass of the objects
  • Distance between them

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation expresses this force as:
\[ F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2} \]
where \( F \) is the force of gravity, \( G \) is the gravitational constant, \( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \) are the masses of the objects, and \( r \) is the distance between the centers of the two masses.
Electromagnetic Force
The electromagnetic force is another of the fundamental forces and it is the one that depends on electric charge. This force can act both as an attractive and repulsive force, depending on the charges of the particles involved.
Key points about the electromagnetic force:
  • It acts between charged particles like electrons and protons
  • It is responsible for most of the forces we observe directly in daily life
  • This includes forces like friction, tension, and normal force

Coulomb's Law describes the magnitude of the electromagnetic force between two point charges:
\[ F = k_e \frac{|q_1 q_2|}{r^2} \]
where \( F \) is the force, \( k_e \) is Coulomb's constant, \( q_1 \) and \( q_2 \) are the sizes of the charges, and \( r \) is the distance between the charges.
Strong Nuclear Force
The strong nuclear force, also known as the strong interaction, is what holds the atomic nucleus together. Without this force, protons, which repel each other due to their positive charges, would fly apart.
Some characteristics of the strong nuclear force include:
  • It only acts over very short distances, roughly the size of an atomic nucleus
  • It is much stronger than the electromagnetic force at these tiny scales
  • It acts between protons and neutrons, the particles within the nucleus

Because it acts at such short ranges, we usually don't experience it directly in our everyday lives, but its effects are crucial for the stability of matter.
Weak Nuclear Force
The weak nuclear force is responsible for processes like radioactive decay and neutrino interactions. Although it's called a 'weak' force, it plays a critical role in the universe's functioning.
Key points about the weak nuclear force:
  • It is weaker than both the electromagnetic and strong nuclear forces
  • It acts at very short ranges, even shorter than the strong force
  • Responsible for beta decay in radioactive atoms

This force helps to convert a neutron into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, which is essential in nuclear reactions that fuel stars and contribute to the synthesis of new elements in the universe.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The anthropic principle states that a. the universe was created so that life exists. b. life exists, so the universe must be such that life can exist. c. if the universe were otherwise, life would not exist. d. life has made the universe the way it is.

What are the basic differences between a grand unified theory (GUT) and a theory of everything (TOE)?

One GUT theory predicts that a proton will decay in about \(10^{31}\) years, which means if you have \(10^{31}\) protons, you should see one decay per year. The Super-Kamiokande observatory in Japan holds about 20 million kg of water in its main detector, and it did not see any decays in 5 years of continual operation. What limit does this observation place on proton decay and on the GUT theory described here?

Astronomers will never directly observe the first few minutes of the universe because a. the universe was opaque at that time. b. the universe is too large now. c. there were no particles or other matter to see. d. there were no photons.

Place in order the following events in the history of the universe. a. Planck era b. grand unified theory breaks c. today d. Big Bang nucleosynthesis e. electroweak breaks f. theory of everything breaks g. electron-positron pair annihilation h. formation of galaxies and stars i. recombination j. inflation
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