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| The Basic Forces in Nature |
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It is the force of attraction between any two bodies in the universe. |
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The gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two bodies and directly proportional to the product of the masses of two bodies. |
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Gravitational force is small when light bodies are considered and is considerable when massive bodies are taken into account. |
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It's the force between two charges. |
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It's stronger than gravitational force. |
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It also follows inverse square law and is proportional to product of the point charges. |
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It can be either attractive or repulsive. |
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It can be the force between two magnets or force on a magnet placed in a magnetic field. |
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An electric charge moving in a magnetic field experiences a force. |
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This is called electromagnetic force. It is a combination of electricity and magnetism. |
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This is a strong force with a short range. |
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It is non-central, i.e., it isn't directed along the line joining the centres of the interacting particles. |
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This force acts within the nucleus. |
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This kind of interaction is not well understood as yet. |
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Its range is shorter than the nuclear force. |
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It is important only for certain nuclear processes like radioactive beta decay. |
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| Strong : Electromagnetic : Weak : Gravitational |
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| 102 : 1 : 10-12 : 10-36 |
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| Points of similarity |
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They are central forces. |
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They obey inverse square law. |
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They are conservative forces. |
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They operate even in vacuum. |
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| Points of dissimilarity |
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Gravitational forces are attractive while electrostatic forces may be attractive or repulsive. |
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Gravitational constant of proportionality doesn't depend on the medium while electrical constant depends on the medium. |
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Electrostatic forces are extremely large as compared to gravitational forces. |
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