Which of the following best describes the nuclear force?
**Nuclear force** strong, short-range ~1 fm, attractive, charge independent, saturated in large nuclei because each nucleon interacts only with neighbors, not all others, so BE/A saturates ~8 MeV, primary factor limiting stable nuclei size is Coulomb repulsion between protons growing as Z² vs strong force saturating, beyond Z≈83 no stable nuclei, competition between Coulomb and strong. The nuclear force is a strong, short-range attractive force that binds protons and neutrons in the nucleus, overcoming the Coulomb repulsion between protons. It is much stronger than the Coulomb force and does n
Ref: NCERT > Physics Book > Atoms and Nuclei > Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability