The Running Coupling from SU(3) Potentials

From an accurate determination of the inter-quark potential, one can study the running coupling constant for a range of $R$-values and hence estimate the scale ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_{\overline{\mathrm{M}\mathrm{S}}}$. Detailed results are presented for $SU(3)$ pure gauge theory from a study of a ${36}^4$ lattice at $\beta =6.5$. (to appear in Proceedings of Lattice 1992 - Amsterdam)