Understanding Nuclear Forces and Mesons

What force is responsible for holding atomic nuclei together despite the electromagnetic repulsion between protons?

• Strong nuclear force

• Weak nuclear force

• Electromagnetic force

• Gravitational force

What was Hideki Yukawa's hypothesis about the particles mediating nuclear forces?

• They are massless like photons

• They are neutrinos

• They are massive and called mesons

• They are electrons

Which method did Bibha Chowdhuri and Debendra Mohan Bose use to detect mesons?

• Cloud chambers

• Bubble chambers

• Photographic plates

• Geiger counters

What was the main problem with the discovery of numerous mesons and baryons?

• They were all unstable

• They contradicted Yukawa's theory

• They formed the Particle Zoo

• They were not detectable

What did Murray Gell-Mann discover that helped explain the Particle Zoo?

• Photons

• Neutrinos

• Quarks

• Gluons

What is the role of gluons in the strong force?

• They are responsible for beta decay

• They mediate the electromagnetic force

• They are massless particles that bind quarks

• They are the same as mesons

How do nucleons exchange the strong force if gluons cannot be directly exchanged?

• Through gravitational attraction

• By emitting photons

• By exchanging mesons

• Through direct contact

What defines the possible size of an atomic nucleus?

• The number of protons

• The range of the strong nuclear force

• The mass of the nucleus

• The speed of light

What is the term used for the force that exists between nucleons?

• Strong nuclear force

• Gravitational force

• Weak nuclear force

• Electromagnetic force

What is the significance of the strong nuclear force in the universe?

• It is responsible for electromagnetic interactions

• It only affects hydrogen atoms

• It causes nuclear decay

• It allows for the existence of complex atoms