The problem of the nuclear interaction is analyzed ab initio, using a physical model of low-energy nuclear phenomena rather than the usual approach of mathematical theory and nuclear parameters. The interaction model is an extension of the fully discrete model of the electron, derived from the Dirac equation. Here we show that a nuclear bond, mediated by the W -boson, evolves naturally in a discrete physical model of the nucleon, in a framework of direct interparticle action. The new model naturally accounts for the uniquely stable two-, three-and four-body bound states, the abolition of free neutron ß-decay by the deuteron bond, 3 H and 3 He particle-stability and 3 H ß-instability.The model is qualitative and radical, and is supported by its congruence with light nuclear phenomena in the low-energy regime.