A heavy nucleus is found to contain more neutrons than protons. This fact is related to which one of the following statements:
A. The nuclear force between neutrons is stronger than that between protons
B. The nuclear force between protons is of a shorter range than those between neutrons, so that a smaller number of protons are held together by the nuclear force
C. Protons are unstable, so their number in a nucleus diminishes
D. It costs more energy to add a proton to a (heavy) nucleus than a neutron because of the Coulomb repulsion between protons
Answer: Option D
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