weak interaction
1
8.1
- noun
- /wiːk ˌɪntəˈrækʃən/
- Specialized
:
interacción débil
- In particle physics, understanding the weak interaction helps explain phenomena such as beta decay.
- weak interaction between quarks
- mediate the weak interaction
- weak interactions of particles
No, there is no theoretical maximum unless you assume that the particles interact with roughly standard model weak interaction cross sections.
- No, there is no theoretical maximum unless you assume that the particles interact with roughly standard model weak interaction cross sections.
Examples
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The discovery of the weak interaction changed our comprehension of fundamental forces in the universe.
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In solar neutrino experiments, the weak interactions have a longer time to make their effects felt than in terrestrial experiments.
Academic text (1990) -
And the puzzle is why is it that the weak interactions give such slow decay rates?
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But demonstrating the variation for the weak interactions required an experimental tour de force.
Academic text (2005) -
The strong and weak interactions operate only over minuscule distances.
Academic text (1991) -
In contrast, experiments in 1956 demonstrated that the weak interaction is not invariant under such parity inversion (P).
Blog text (33) -
Enrico Fermi's 1934 theory of beta decay formulated the weak interaction in analogy to the electromagnetic interaction.
Academic text (2004) -
The conversion of a neutron and proton into a deuteron and a photon is now searching for evidence of weak interactions between quarks in protons and neutrons.
Academic text (2012) -
The weak interaction is responsible for the decay of certain particles, like the neutron.
Synonyms
2
8.3
A basic interaction in nature that causes some radioactive decay and acts on particles like neutrinos
How Strong
- Specialized
- Specialized
35
6.7
- Specialized
1
8.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally an adjective + noun meaning 'an interaction that is weak', so a learner who knows the common senses of 'weak' and 'interaction' will grasp the literal idea of a less strong or slight interaction. However, the specific technical sense — that this is one of the fundamental particle physics forces (mediated by W/Z bosons and tied to radioactive decay) — is specialized and not fully predictable from everyday vocabulary, so the transparency is partial.
Etymology
Weak interaction gets its name from the words weak and interaction: imagine two tiny particles almost whispering to each other, so their contact is small and happens only sometimes instead of a strong push. That's why the term means the kind of force that causes small changes in particles, like the radioactivity called 'beta decay'.