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The fundamental forces in particle physics are the strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational forces.
In particle physics, the fundamental forces are the basic interactions that occur between particles. These forces are responsible for the behaviour of matter at the subatomic level. There are four fundamental forces: the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force and the gravitational force.
The strong force is responsible for holding the nucleus of an atom together. It is the strongest of the four fundamental forces and is mediated by particles called gluons. The weak force is responsible for radioactive decay and is mediated by particles called W and Z bosons.
The electromagnetic force is responsible for the interaction between charged particles. It is mediated by photons and is responsible for phenomena such as electricity, magnetism and light. The gravitational force is responsible for the attraction between masses and is mediated by particles called gravitons.
While the strong, weak and electromagnetic forces have been unified into a single theory called the electroweak theory, the gravitational force has yet to be successfully incorporated into this framework. The search for a theory that unifies all four fundamental forces is one of the major goals of modern physics.
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