section_path: Fundamental interactions/Weak nuclear
section_name: Weak nuclear
paragraph_text: Weak nuclear
  
  Unique among the fundamental interactions, the weak nuclear force creates no bound states. The weak force is due to the exchange of the heavy W and Z bosons. Since the weak force is mediated by two types of bosons, it can be divided into two types of interaction or " vertices " — charged current, involving the electrically charged W and W bosons, and neutral current, involving electrically neutral Z bosons. The most familiar effect of weak interaction is beta decay (of neutrons in atomic nuclei) and the associated radioactivity. This is a type of charged-current interaction. The word "weak" derives from the fact that the field strength is some 10 times less than that of the strong force. Still, it is stronger than gravity over short distances. A consistent electroweak theory has also been developed, which shows that electromagnetic forces and the weak force are indistinguishable at a temperatures in excess of approximately 10 K. Such temperatures occurred in the plasma collisions in the early moments of the Big Bang.