I read in The Elegent Universe that the strong nuclear force gets stronger as you get further away from a particle, but I also read that it virtually drops to zero in spaces larger than an atomic nucleus. How can both be possible? Is the strong force different than a simple inverse or direct relation?

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"Critical thinking and skepticism form the cornerstone of intelligence."
-me

I'm not sure if I quite get the 2nd half of your first sentence, Zrice03, but I was under the impression that the "strong force" which binds the quarks together acts rather like a rubber band - the further you stretch it, the stronger the tension. It takes enormous energies to break that tension.

I was thinking about this problem and I think I've figured it out.

The strong force is a very different type than we are used to. All the protons and neutrons in our body are colorless. If they weren't they'd be attracted to each other. Particles have to be color-charged either red, green, or blue (or a combination of any two) to attract any other particles through this force. It's similar to putting a negative charge and positive charge next to each other to have the charges cancel. The only difference is that the charges completely cancel in the strong force, rather than almost in electromagnetism.

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"Critical thinking and skepticism form the cornerstone of intelligence."
-me

The force will be with you...always

Is this something along the longs of string theory? I know that it says something along those lines. It has to do with vibrations I believe.

Faulkner's analogy is the easiest to use. Actually, I've now stolen it for my future use.

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