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PBS Space Time

How Does The Nucleus Hold Together?

Season 9 Episode 5

Two protons next to each other in an atomic nucleus are repelling each other electromagnetically with enough force to lift a medium-sized labradoodle off the ground. Release this energy and you have a nuclear explosion. So how does it all hold together? Nuclei are held together by a quirk of nature, without which we would have no complex atoms, no chemistry, and certainly no labradoodles.

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