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weak force |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.07 sec. |
weak forceor weak nuclear forceFundamental interaction that underlies some forms of radioactivity and certain interactions between subatomic particles. It acts on all elementary particles that have a spin of ¹⁄₂. The particles interact weakly by exchanging particles that have integer spins. These particles have masses about 100 times that of a proton, and it is this relative massiveness that makes the weak force appear weak at low energies. For example, in radioactive decay, the weak force has a strength about 1/100,000 that of the electromagnetic force. However, it is now known that the weak force has intrinsically the same strength as the electromagnetic force, and the two are believed to be only different manifestations of a single electroweak force (see electroweak theory). How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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A theory that would unite all the forces of nature--electromagnetism, gravity, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force--into a single cohesive expression, or a so-called theory of everything, is the ultimate goal for many modern physicists. The identity of dark matter must fit with scientific understanding of the fundamental forces of nature: electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces, he says. Such high-precision atomic data are necessary for later detecting the tiny influence of the weak nuclear force on the behavior of electrons bound to an atom. |
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