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Asked in CBSE AIPMT 1990 · Binding energy curve and nuclear force
Nuclear forces act only across a few fermi, of order 10⁻¹⁵ m.
Beyond about 10 fm they fall away to nothing, which is why they bind a nucleus yet play no part at atomic distances.
Their fall-off is much steeper than any inverse-square or inverse-cube law, so no simple power law fits them.
Within their range they are far the strongest force known, around a hundred times the electrostatic repulsion between two protons.
The true statement is therefore that they are short range forces.
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