Question

Is weak nuclear force attractive or repulsive?

Answer 1

The weak nuclear force is neither attractive or repulsive.

Explanation:

The weak nuclear force is usually responsible for turning protons into neutrons or vice versa. It also applies to more exotic particles containing strange, charm, up and down quarks.

When an atom undergoes beta decay, a neutron, containing 1 up quark and 2 down quark, gets turned into a proton, containing 2 up quarks and 1 down quark.

A down quark in a neutron becomes an up quark plus a `W^-` boson.

`d rarr u+W^-`

The `W^-` decays into an electron and an electron anti-neutrino.

`W^(-) rarr e^(-)+ bar nu_e`

So, the weak force is not a force in the sense of attraction and repulsion. It is key to radioactive decay and the nuclear fusion process taking place in stars.