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A capital W with a charge superscript, the charged weak carrier.
Also known as: W boson, Charged weak boson, W plus and W minus
The W boson carries the weak force and comes in positive and negative varieties. It is the only force carrier that changes a particle's identity — a W turns a down quark into an up quark, which is exactly what beta decay is.
Denotes the charged weak gauge bosons, W⁺ and W⁻, mediators of the charged-current weak interaction.
Contexts: Laboratory
Changes the flavour of the particle it acts on, which is what makes beta decay possible and what no other force carrier does.
Contexts: Laboratory
Is very massive — around eighty times a proton — which is why the weak force has such short range.
Contexts: Laboratory
A capital letter W, four diagonal strokes forming two joined V shapes, with a small raised plus or minus sign.