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Weak Nuclear Interaction

Key Stage 5

Meaning

The weak nuclear interaction is the mechanism governing how hadrons and leptons affect one another.

About The Weak Nuclear Interaction

The weak nuclear interaction is one of the 4 fundamental interactions governing how subatomic particless affect one another.
The weak nuclear interaction causes the decay of particles into other, more stable, subatomic particless.
The weak nuclear interaction can allow neutrons to decay into protons.
The weak nuclear interaction is mediated by the W-boson and Z-boson.
The effective range of the weak nuclear interaction is smaller than the diameter of a proton.

Examples

W-boson interactions for nucleons.
FeynmanDiagramNeutronDecay.png
FeynmanDiagramPositronEmission.png
FeynmanDiagramElectronCapture.png
This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a neutron decays into a proton. This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a proton decays into a neutron via positron emission. This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a proton captures an electron to become a neutron.
W-boson interactions for quarks
FeynmanDiagramDownDecay.png
FeynmanDiagramUpDecay.png
FeynmanDiagramQuarkElectronCapture.png
This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a down-quark decays into an up-quark. This appears as a neutron becoming a proton, electron and an antielectron-neutrino. This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which an up-quark decays into a down-quark via positron emission. This appears as a proton becoming a neutron, positron and electron-neutrino. This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which an up-quark captures an electron to become a neutron. This appears as a ground state electron becoming an electron-neutrino while a proton becomes a neutron.