How 2 Fundamental Forces Unite Electromagnetism and The Weak force Electroweak force
How 2 Fundamental Forces Unite Electromagnetism and The Weak force Electroweak force
What is the Electroweak force? Electroweak theory explained: At the moment of the Big Bang, all 4 fundamental forces were probably the same. But as temperatures and energies lowered, the forces separated into distinct interactions of their own.
The energies at which electromagnetism and the weak force unite s something we can simulate in particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron collider in Geneva. But these two forces appear to be very different, so how do they unite?.
Gauge bosons – like photons mediate the electromagnetic force, and the W and Z bosons mediate the weak nuclear force. The exchange of the virtual versions of these particles confer the appropriate force. So for example, when two electrons are near each other, their repulsion is due to the exchange of virtual photons.
The weak nuclear force also works via the exchange of a virtual W or Z boson. In the beta decay of a neutron, one of its down quarks turns into a up quark by emitting a W- boson. This turns the Neutron into a proton. This W- boson almost immediately decays into an electron and an anti-neutrino. So what we detect in this decay is the electron and the antineutrino. The virtual particle is not detectable. The weak force is unique in this respect in that it is the only force which can change the identity of an elementary particle.