W AND Z BOSONS Meaning and
Definition
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The W and Z bosons are elementary particles that belong to the family of gauge bosons, also known as vector bosons. They were discovered in the 1980s as carriers of the weak force, one of the fundamental forces in nature. The weak force is responsible for processes such as radioactive decay and nuclear reactions.
The W bosons come in two varieties: the positively charged W+ boson and the negatively charged W- boson. The Z boson, on the other hand, is neutral in charge. Unlike the electromagnetic force, which is mediated by the photon, the weak force is mediated by the exchange of these W and Z bosons. In fact, the W and Z bosons are the only known carriers of the weak force.
The W and Z bosons are quite massive compared to other elementary particles. While the W bosons have a mass of about 80 times that of a proton, the Z boson is even heavier at around 90 times the mass of a proton. This mass gives rise to the short range of the weak force, making it effective only at distances on the order of 10^-18 meters.
The discovery of the W and Z bosons played a key role in validating the electroweak theory, which describes the unification of the weak force and the electromagnetic force. It also earned Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984.
