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One of the four fundamental forces , the weak interaction involves the exchange of the intermediate vector bosons , the W and the Z. Since the mass of these particles is on the order of 80 GeV, the uncertainty principle dictates a range of about 10 meters which is about 0.

Gravitational Force

The weak interaction changes one flavor of quark into another. It is crucial to the structure of the universe in that. The role of the weak force in the transmutation of quarks makes it the interaction involved in many decays of nuclear particles which require a change of a quark from one flavor to another. It was in radioactive decay such as beta decay that the existence of the weak interaction was first revealed.

The Four Fundamental Forces and their strengths

The weak interaction is the only process in which a quark can change to another quark, or a lepton to another lepton - the so-called "flavor changes". The discovery of the W and Z particles in was hailed as a confirmation of the theories which connect the weak force to the electromagnetic force in electroweak unification. The weak interaction acts between both quarks and leptons, whereas the strong force does not act between leptons.

Since the mass of these particles is on the order of 80 GeV, the uncertainty principle dictates a range of about 10 meters which is about. For example, in the neutron decay depicted by the Feynman diagram at left above, one down quark is changed to an up quark, transforming the neutron into a proton. The primitive vertices in the Feynman diagrams for the weak interaction are of two types, charged and neutral. For leptons they take the following form. The electron is used as an example in these diagrams, but any lepton can be substituted on the incoming side.

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The exit side top will be the same for the neutral vertex, but determined by the charge of the W in the charged vertex. Besides conserving charge, the vertex must conserve lepton number , so the process with the electron can produce an electron neutrino but not a muon neutrino. This interaction is not likely to be observed because of the incredible difficulty of observing the scattering of neutrinos, but it suggests other interactions which may be obtained by rotating or twisting the diagram.

With a twist of the Feynman diagram above, one can arrive at the interaction responsible for the decay of the muon , so the structures obtained from the primitive vertices can be used to build up a family of interactions. The transformation between the two Feynman diagrams can also be seen as an example of crossing symmetry.

What are the four fundamental forces of nature?

As drawn, this interaction cannot be observed because it implies the isolation of an up quark. Because of quark confinement , isolated quarks are not observed. But rotating the Feynman diagram gives an alternative interaction, shown below for both electron and muon products.


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This suggests the weak interaction mechanism for the decay of the pion , which is observed to happen by the muon pathway. The weak interaction in the electron form at left above is responsible for the decay of the neutron and for beta decay in general.

Fundamental forces of nature

Index Fundamental force concepts Coupling constants. The Strong Force A force which can hold a nucleus together against the enormous forces of repulsion of the protons is strong indeed. Feynman diagrams and the strong force. This force holds the nucleus of an atom together. It is the strongest of the forces, but it is very short ranged.

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It acts over a range of about 10 m, which is the average diameter of a medium sized nucleus. This force is attractive. This force is weak compared to the strong force as the name implies and has the shortest range of 10 m, which is 0. It is responsible for radioactive decay especially nuclear beta decay.

All particles experience this force. This is the second strongest force after the strong force and it acts on electrically charged particles. However, this force has both attractive and repulsive properties due to the two charges it possesses; negative and positive. Like charges repel while unlike charges attract and this can be demonstrated with a simple magnet or electric charges.


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  • The Fundamental Forces of Nature. Retrieved on the 5th of December from: The four fundamental forces.