Strong force acts to keep them together, but this alone isn’t sufficient, so neutrons provide that little bit of extra spacing to keep things *just* far enough apart that EM won’t eject them from the corr, but *just* close enough that the strong force can keep them bound up. This is why the largest of atoms are radioactive (the balance is so precise that any stray wiggle will break the balance and cause Things To Happen). Or at least, that’s my head Canon for how it works. I could be totally off. What I do know is that they are essential.
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