Editing Standard Model (section)

=== Weak nuclear force ===
{{See also|Weak interaction|Electroweak interaction}}
The weak interaction is responsible for various forms of [[particle decay]], such as [[beta decay]]. It is weak and short-range, due to the fact that the weak mediating particles, W and Z bosons, have mass. W bosons have electric charge and mediate interactions that change the particle type (referred to as flavor) and charge. Interactions mediated by W bosons are [[charged current interaction]]s. Z bosons are neutral and mediate neutral current interactions, which do not change particle flavor. Thus Z bosons are similar to the photon, aside from them being massive and interacting with the neutrino. The weak interaction is also the only interaction to violate [[Parity violation|parity]] and [[CP violation|CP]]. Parity violation is maximal for charged current interactions, since the W boson interacts exclusively with left-handed fermions and right-handed antifermions.

In the Standard Model, the weak force is understood in terms of the electroweak theory, which states that the weak and electromagnetic interactions become united into a single ''electroweak'' interaction at high energies.