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The Weak Nuclear Force

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Abstract

As we have seen, the strong nuclear force is responsible for the formation of quark-containing nuclear particles of matter such as baryons and mesons. However, all of the particles we have analyzed—created in reactions due to cosmic radiation in the upper earth’s atmosphere, but mainly in high-energy particle accelerators—decay shortly after creation, except for the proton (which is stable) and the neutron only as part of the nucleus of atoms. Free neutrons decay in approximately 15 minutes into a proton, electron, and electron-antineutrino.

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© 1992 Plenum Press, New York

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Karel Velan, A. (1992). The Weak Nuclear Force. In: The Multi-Universe Cosmos. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6030-8_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6030-8_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-6032-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-6030-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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