system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If neutrons have no charge, what force causes them to stay in the nucleus of an atom? And do electrons ever come into contact with nuclei?
gpt
There is a nuclear force that bounds protons and neutrons together in a nucleus. You may have heard of the strong nuclear force that holds quarks together inside of protons and neutrons, and the nuclear force is a manifestation of that. It's similar to how van der Walls forces that keep atoms near each other are a manifestation of electrostatic forces that keep electrons bound to atoms.

Electrons sometimes come into contact with the nucleus, which can induce radioactive decay. This is called electron capture.