The potential energy of a pair of nucleons as a function of their separation is minimum at a distanc

Question

The potential energy of a pair of nucleons as a function of their separation is minimum at a distance $r_0$. What is the approximate value of $r_0$?

Professor PC Thomas Classes · Answer

The potential energy is minimum at a distance $r_0$ of about $0.8	ext{ fm}$. The strong nuclear force is attractive for distances larger than $0.8	ext{ fm}$ and highly repulsive for distances less than $0.8	ext{ fm}$.