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Re: When and How Strong?



I wrote in part:
"The exchange carrier of the weak force is described as the intermediate
(or mediating) vector (or unit) boson, a creation of Yukawa's.
The weak nuclear force has an even shorter range than the others, so its
carrier, or intermediate vector boson (of three kinds, W+, W-, and Zero)
is a heavier particle type. "


At 12:54 10/4/98 -0400, Jerome responded with this paragraph:

The carriers of the weak force (W and Z) were not hypothesized by Yukawa
but came in much later. Yukawa was the first to propose the existence of
a "meson" something of middle mass (between the electron and the proton)
that would carry the strong force. ...

J. Epstein

I do not believe I claimed that Yukawa hypothesized the carriers of the
weak force as W and Z. More important, I don't believe that was the thrust
of the source I used.
I reported a digest of the following paragraph from Cline, Rubbia, Van
Der Meer, "The Search For Intermediate Vector Bosons", SciAm March 1982
as anthologized in "Particles and Forces At The Heart Of The Matter"
Carrigan & Trower (1990), W.H.Freeman & Co. N.Y. ISBN 0-7167-2070-1

(Page 114, col 1 on)
"The corresponding force carrier in weak interactions is the intermediate
vector boson (intermediate simply because of its mediating role between
particles).
The existance of such a particle was first suggested in 1935 by the
Japanese physicist Hideki Yukawa, who at the time was seeking a unified
explanation of the two newly discovered nuclear forces: the strong and the
weak. Yukawa noted that the range of a force should be inversely
proportional to the mass of the particle that transmits it.....Specifically
, Yukawa postulated the existence of a moderately heavy particle, later
named the meson, the exchange of which gives rise to the strong attractive
force between the proton and the neutron.
"The first particle of this type to be correctly identified, the pi meson
(or pion), was discovered in 1947...

"The [LATER bw] electroweak theory...for the first time made specific and
testable predictions about the properties of the intermediate vector
bosons, including their mass. Futhermore the theory required that there be
three such particles, with electric charges of +1 (W+), -1 (W-) and zero (Zo)"

I hope that this extended quotation will serve to reconcile Epstein's
opinion with Rubbia's ( and mine!) If not, I would welcome a quotation from
an opposing text. In any event, the readership will certainly arrive at
their own conclusions.

Sincerely

brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK