1 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: Hey, Jorge, do the mysteries of physics pull you in 2 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: or do they make you runaway screaming? You mean, does 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 1: physics attract me or repel me? That's right, you know 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,240 Speaker 1: if you want to think about it physically. Now, are 5 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: we talking about physics or physicists? No, the whole shebang. 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: You can't separate the physics from the physicists. Well, you know, 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: I kind of like the big questions that physics as 8 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: they're pretty exciting, but you know, it's phys the math 9 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: and all the jargon. It's kind of a little bit 10 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: hard to put up with. So it's a little bit 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: of a push an pole. That's right. Every time I 12 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: think I'm free of physics, it just pulls me back in. 13 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: We're like the mob. You're the al Pacina of physics, 14 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: and you are the pun father. Now you're more like 15 00:00:51,479 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: the dawn coreole is physics. Hi am Jorge, I'm your 16 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: cartoonists and the creator of PhD comics. Hi, I'm Daniel. 17 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: I'm a particle physicist and a professor U c Irvine. 18 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: And I'm still laughing about that. Don coriole with joke. 19 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: Do you need a break here? No? But I do 20 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: love the idea of somebody who's like a master of physics, 21 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: you know, like the godfather of physics. But you know, 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: we just lost somebody who many people consider the godfather 23 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: of the weak force and the standard model. Stephen Weinberg 24 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: and Professor Ut Austin, who won the Nobel Prize forty 25 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: years ago, just passed away last week. So rest in 26 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: peace to one of the giants of the twentieth century. 27 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: Oh man, rest in peace. Yeah. So who's gonna take 28 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: the mantle of the godfather now of physics? I don't know, 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: because the stakes are high, right, you gotta win the 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: Oscar for the sequel also, and then not flubb it 31 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: on the third moviee on the third a prize. You know, 32 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: it's got to be as good as the rest. But 33 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: welcome to our podcast Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe, 34 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: a production of Our Heart Radio in which we try 35 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: to make you the godfather of everything in the universe. 36 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: We try to give you an understanding of how things 37 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: work at the very smallest scale. We share with you 38 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: what humanity has accomplished in terms of understanding the true 39 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: nature of reality around us, the context of our lives, 40 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:30,079 Speaker 1: the long cosmic stretch of history, the crazy, violent events 41 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: that have led to our existence, and everything in between. 42 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: We ask questions about the very nature of time and space, 43 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: and we do our best to answer them. That's right, 44 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 1: because it is a pretty wonderful universe, full of amazing 45 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: and incredible forces and energies, and places to explore and 46 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: particles to discover, full of intriguing mysteries and sometimes weak questions. 47 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: That's right. It really is incredible to me how varied 48 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: and complex and gorgeous and strange the university is. You know, 49 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: it's filled with bananas and movies and all sorts of 50 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: silly things. And then when you take it apart, you 51 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: find that at its microscopic level, it's nature is fundamentally 52 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: totally different, which means that everything we know about the 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: universe is not fundamental. It's instead, it's emergent. It's just 54 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: like an accident of how things come together. And so 55 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: the real majesty of the universe, the real like nature 56 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: of the reality around us, is embedded in how the 57 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: basic bits are put together, and so the rules that 58 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: govern how those bits come together and how they interact 59 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: or how they don't interact, is really what leads to 60 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: things like ice cream and movies and bananas, and so 61 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: it's fascinating to me how the world exists at these 62 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: different scales and we can somehow pull them apart and 63 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: understand them at all different levels. Yeah, I guess that. 64 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: You know, the universe is pretty majestic at like the 65 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: gaxy level, at the nebula level, it's pretty amazing, And 66 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: it's also pretty fascinating at like the smallest, tiniest levels 67 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: that you can possibly get right at the quant level. Yeah, 68 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: And that's sort of a philosophical question, like why do 69 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: we find the universe majestic and beautiful? Could it have 70 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: been that we like look at galaxies and we're like 71 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: kind of an ugly smear. But instead, you know, we 72 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: look at them, were like wow, maybe evolution filtered for 73 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: optimists or our internal physicists, you know, somehow made to survive. Yeah, 74 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,799 Speaker 1: because we also find a lot of the Earth beautiful. 75 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: You know, we see vistas, were like, wow, we're lucky 76 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: you'll live here. Could we have evolved on a planet 77 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: where we're like, man, this place is a dump. It 78 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: makes me wonder sometimes, right, or maybe like there are 79 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: aliens who grew up in a totally turned planet. Who think, 80 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: are you know beautiful mountains and trees and rivers are 81 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: are ugly or boring? Yeah? Exactly. The aliens who grew 82 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: up in Irvine and they prefer Beiji. They don't like 83 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: color or liveliness. Oh man, that would be terrible if 84 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: we met aliens and they're like, Wow, your suburbs are nice, 85 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: but these forests make it all like Irvine. Right where 86 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: did the aliens come and they tear down everything beautiful 87 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 1: and they just build subdivision. Well, then we should move 88 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: to their planet because then their their planet must be gorgeous. 89 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: That sounds good. But rolling back up to what we 90 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: were talking about, I think it's amazing how many incredible 91 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: things there are in our universe and how it all 92 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: just comes out of how the little bits interact. You know, 93 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: the nature of your body is mostly determined by the 94 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: strength of the electromagnetic force. The structure of the atom 95 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: is mostly due to a combination of the strong force 96 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: and electromagnetism. The structure of the galaxy comes from the 97 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: nature of gravity. It's really the forces that shape the 98 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: very fabric of reality as we experience it. Yeah, the 99 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: forces are pretty good, because without forces, the universe would 100 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: be pretty boring, right, I mean, the forces in the 101 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: universe are what makes things stick together and do things 102 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: right and move, Otherwise it would be a pretty um 103 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: static universe. Yeah, you could say they forced it to 104 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: be interesting. It was a bit of a force joke there. 105 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: Then don't force my hand or I'll make some more. Yeah. 106 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: We like to talk about the giant things in the universe, 107 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: but we also like to talk about the little things, 108 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: like the forces that keep our particles together or repel 109 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: them or or make them do interesting things. And so 110 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: today we'll be talking about one specific question about one 111 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,479 Speaker 1: of the fundamental forces. That's right. And this is a 112 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: super fun question for me because it came from a 113 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: listener who attended one of my public office hours when 114 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: I just hang out on Zoom and answer physics questions 115 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,600 Speaker 1: from all comers. And this one came from an organic 116 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: chemistry professor who asked me a pretty tough question that 117 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: I didn't know the answer to. Wow, was that scary? 118 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: Did you freeze the panic? No, those public office hours 119 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: are pretty low key, and I often get asked questions 120 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: I don't know the answer to, and I just try 121 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: to figure them out on the fly. Hoping that people 122 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: appreciate seeing a physicist like make mistakes and back up 123 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: and hopefully figure it out. All right, Well, let's get 124 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: to the question that Daniel at his office hours. So 125 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:50,039 Speaker 1: today on the program, we'll be asking the question does 126 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: the weak force attract or repel? Now, Daniel, is that 127 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: repel or repel? How exciting is the week? The weak 128 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: force likes to go climbing, elects to bouldering. I don't 129 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: know if it likes to repel down cliffs. Also, it's 130 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: too weak to do it. It just lays in bed 131 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: and complains until somebody brings it lunch. Well, that's a 132 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: pretty interesting question. Does the weak force attract or repel? 133 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: I guess are there only two options? Can the force 134 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: only attract or repel? Or can it do something else like, 135 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: I don't know, push you sideways or this interest you? 136 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: That's an awesome question, and no forces can do other 137 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: things than just attract or repel. Will dig into it 138 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: in the podcast. Some forces can do things like change 139 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: the nature of a particle. You know, change you from 140 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: an electron to a neutrino, for example, so you know 141 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: you might end up in a different direction and be 142 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: a different particle, so it's more complex than just getting 143 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: pushed or pulled. And the force of magnetism can do 144 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: things like turn you doesn't change your overall speed, but 145 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: it bends your path. So there's all sorts of complicated, 146 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: amazing things that forces can do. But I think the 147 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: fundamental thing they do seems to be either pull things 148 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: together and hold them tights so they can build up 149 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: and make complex things like bananas and ice cream, or 150 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 1: push things apart keep them from forming complex structure. And 151 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: this is a pretty fundamental question because the weak force 152 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: is one of the four fundamental forces. Like there are 153 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: only four forces in the entire universe, right, that four 154 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: forces that make everything work, and this is one of them. Yeah, 155 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: although stein Weinbergley Nobel Prize Laurier we just talked about, 156 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: he's the guy who brought together the weak force with electromagnetism. 157 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: He showed that really it's one force, which we now 158 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: call electro week. So depending on how you count, there 159 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: either three fundamental forces or four fundamental forces. In the 160 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: case where it's three, there's gravity, the strong force, and 161 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: the electro weak force. In the case where there's four, 162 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: you break up electro week into the weak force and 163 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 1: electricity magnetism. All right, well, we'll get into that, but 164 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: first we were wondering how many people out there knew 165 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: whether the weak force attracts or repel or hadn't even 166 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: thought about this question. So Daniel went out there into 167 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: the internet to ask people does the weak force attract 168 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: or repel? So thank you everybody out there in the 169 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: Internet who was willing to play this simply physics game. 170 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: And if you would like to be asked questions that 171 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,079 Speaker 1: stumped physics professor and hear your answers on the podcast, 172 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: please write to us two questions at Daniel and Jorge 173 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: dot com. Think about it for a second. What would 174 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: you answer? Here's what people had to say. I can't 175 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: remember exactly what the weak force is all about, so 176 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to say maybe neither or both. On this one. 177 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to say, I'm gonna guess that the 178 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: weak force repels. And I'm going to say that because 179 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: things in the universe seemed to be, for the most 180 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: part stuck together, and I have kind of thought that 181 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: the weak force and the strong force are working against 182 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 1: each other. So if everything is stuck together, I'm going 183 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: to say that the strong force overpowers that weak force, 184 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: and uh, that's why you know we are in clumps 185 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 1: of atoms instead of just spread out everywhere as gas 186 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: all the time. I guess I think the strong force 187 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: attract so that maybe the weak force repels. I genuinely 188 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: don't know that's the weak force repellent tract. I want 189 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: to say maybe both. Although it holds party together, is 190 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: what would the structures? I guess it would also have 191 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: to retell stuff that it doesn't want to react with 192 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: and allow in. I don't know. I feel like I 193 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: should know, but I just don't know. I've actually never 194 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: understood if the week fourth attractor repelled or they know? 195 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: Is that the fourth profable for sometimes a productive the 196 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: key like the bit of the kyform me from particles 197 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: into order particles, So like electronics tretrino. If I remember, well, 198 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: the gravitational force is the only one that attracts. Only 199 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 1: the rest of them attract and repose. So the weak 200 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: force attracts any repels. Not sure if it's the same 201 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: like an electromagnetic force, but I know that it detracts 202 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: any pills. I gotta say I was pretty relieved that 203 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: these folks also didn't know the answer they had. Would 204 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: you feel inadequate as a physicist? Yeah, I would have 205 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: to give up my professorship. I would have lost it 206 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: in physics combat. Oh man, I gotta get like a 207 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: Nobel Price winner to be one of your respondents just 208 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: to sabotage you. You gotta get a ringer in there, 209 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: just to set me up. But so this surprising, and 210 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: this question came from an organic chemistry professor. That's pretty cool. 211 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: Are you going to take revenge now and go to 212 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: his office hours and give him a really tough organic 213 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: chemistry question. I don't even understand organic chemistry well enough 214 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: to ask a question, not to mention find one that's tricky. 215 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: But I totally respect this question because it's so simple. 216 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: It's so basic. Right, It's like, well, we know forces 217 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: push and pull, so what about the weak force? Where 218 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: does it fit in? And it's such a simple and 219 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: basic question, but one I had never thought of before 220 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 1: because I did to think about the weak force only 221 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: in terms of like particle interactions, like particles colliding and annihilating, 222 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: because there doesn't really play a tactile role in our lives, right, 223 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: you don't feel the weak force pushing against you or 224 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: pulling things together, and so I never really thought about 225 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: it in this context. It was really a fascinating question. 226 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: You just like to break things. You don't worry about 227 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: putting things together. It's kind of my job to break 228 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: things at high speed. It's like the top gear of 229 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: particle physics, and you get to survive most of the time. 230 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,319 Speaker 1: So that's good most of the time, exactly. Well, let's 231 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: warm up to the answer here and maybe let's you know, 232 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 1: start at the basics here, So let's talk about what 233 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: is the weak force and what does it mean in 234 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: general to attract or repel something to step us through. Then. Yeah, 235 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: so we have a few ways that particles can interact 236 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: with each other, and that's really what forces are. They 237 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: are particles feeling each other. And when we first discovered 238 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: that particles can do this, it was sort of a 239 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: question of like, wait, how does this happen? How do 240 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: particles like push and pull on each other with out 241 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,439 Speaker 1: actually touching, right? How they like feel each other? Two electrons, 242 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,079 Speaker 1: for example, can push against each other. It doesn't mean 243 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: that the surfaces of the electrons have come into contact 244 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: like little tiny balls, and the way they do this 245 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: is with the forces between them, so that each one 246 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,680 Speaker 1: has a field, right, each electron has an electric field 247 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: around it. Where the electric field really is is a 248 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: way for the electron to apply a force to other things. 249 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: And so that's for electricity, and this is a a similar 250 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: field for magnetism. And electricity and magnetism were then shown 251 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: to be actually two sides of the same coin. It 252 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,680 Speaker 1: made more sense to think about them together. Some phenomena 253 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 1: seemed like electricity if you're at rest, and they seem 254 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 1: like magnetism if you're moving, and so it's pretty clear 255 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: that's really just sort of one thing that we were 256 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: seeing two sides of. And the weak force is in 257 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: the category of electromagnetism. It's a force that particles can 258 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: use to operate on each other. And so it's a 259 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: little weirder than the other forces because it's not something 260 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: you experience day today because it's so weak. And the 261 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: reason that it's so weak and so weird is that 262 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: the particles that communicate those forces, the fields that it uses, 263 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: have a lot of mass. They're very very heavy, and 264 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 1: so they don't last for very long. They don't make 265 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: it very far, and that mass really weakens their impact. 266 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: So electromagnetism and the weak force are very closely related, 267 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: but the big difference is that these particles that communicate 268 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: the weak force are very heavy, and so they really 269 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 1: weaken the force. So maybe let's step back a little 270 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: bit here, because you just went through a lot there. 271 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: So I think what most people are probably familiar with 272 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 1: is the electromagnetic force. And we know that like you know, 273 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: if I have two magnets, they repel, or two magnetic 274 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: can attract each other and pushing pool and it's all 275 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: because of the electromagnetic force, Right, That's the one that 276 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: people are most familiar with. And people are i think 277 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: also familiar with gravity, which kind of attracts things together. 278 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: So that's where I think maybe people expect that all 279 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: forces attract or repel. Yeah, and it's really interesting because 280 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: electromagnetism can do both of those things. Electromagnetism can attract 281 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: or repel with the same force. And that's because in electromagnetism, 282 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: the force depends on the charge of the particle. Right, 283 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: So every particle we add this label like a minus 284 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: or a plus, right, and each one we call the 285 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: electric charge, and there's two possible values. This plus and 286 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: this minus. And if two particles have the same charge 287 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: like plus plus, then they repel each other. They have 288 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: opposite charges, they attract each other. It's important to understand though, 289 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: that this charge we're talking about, what it means is 290 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: that the particles feel the field like a particle that 291 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: has no charge is a particle that ignores the electromagnetic field. 292 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: A particle has a positive or negative charge is a 293 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: particle that does feel the field. We discover that there 294 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: are two these different kinds of charges, and if you 295 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: combine them in one way, they repel, and if you 296 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 1: combine them in another way, they attract. So that's a 297 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: really fascinating thing about electromagnetism is that it can do both. Well, 298 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: maybe us through through an example. So let's say have 299 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,560 Speaker 1: two electrons and they're like sitting close to each other, right, 300 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 1: so they both have negative charge. And then you talked 301 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: about there being a field and this force being going 302 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 1: through the field. Can you step us through what's happening? 303 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: Like if I have an electron here, an electron there, 304 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: and then they're both the same charge, they're gonna push 305 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: each other away, right, That's right, That's exactly what's gonna happen. 306 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: So you have electron one and it's just hanging out, 307 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: but it also fills the space around it with an 308 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: electromagnetic field. And so now you put another particle in 309 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: that field, a second electron, and it's going to feel 310 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: that field. That field exists just to apply forces to 311 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: other charged particles, and the direction of the force depends 312 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: on the charge of the two particles, and why it happens, 313 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: why there's a push or a pull depends on the 314 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: potential energy of the field. Things like to basically roll 315 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: downhill to low potential energy, and these fields, they have 316 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: a potential energy which varies with distance, and the potential 317 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: energy tends to be slanted, so the particles like roll 318 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: down the potential towards each other. Then the force that 319 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: tracks sort of like if you put two rocks in 320 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: a valley, they would roll towards each other. The gravitational 321 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: potential minimizes when they're closer, or if the shape of 322 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: the potential energy is such that it minimizes when the 323 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: particles are far apart, like you put two rocks on 324 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: the top of a mountain that tend to roll away 325 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: from each other, then the force will push the particles apart. 326 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: And so when you have two charges, the shape of 327 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: this potential, which determines whether it's pushing or pulling, depends 328 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: on the charges of the particles. If the charges are 329 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,240 Speaker 1: the same, then they repel. The charges are opposite, then 330 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: they attract. And it all has to do with the 331 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: shape of this potential energy created by the field of 332 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 1: one of the particles. Right. But maybe I think what 333 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: might be confusing to some people is you mentioned it's 334 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:47,199 Speaker 1: like an electric field. Now is that the same as 335 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,239 Speaker 1: a quantum field? Right, because so the electrons are we 336 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,920 Speaker 1: know there's sort of like fluctuations in the quantum field 337 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,719 Speaker 1: of electrons. Are you saying there's like a separate field 338 00:17:57,119 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 1: that's quantum or or is this more of a mathematical 339 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: When you say field, that's the same field we've been 340 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: talking about forever, the electromagnetic field. You can actually talk 341 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: about electricity magnetism without quantum mechanics. It was developed before 342 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 1: quantum mechanics. We have a classical theory of electricity and 343 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: magnetism that explains how electrons pulling each other. That was 344 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 1: just before we understood that this field was quantum. What 345 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: that means is that it just can't have any arbitrary value, 346 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: but it's like chopped up into discrete bits. It's like 347 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: if you are eating a cake, it's like you have 348 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,360 Speaker 1: to have one piece, or two pieces, or three pieces. 349 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: You can't just nable on the cake all day long. 350 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:33,920 Speaker 1: And so before quantum mechanics, we thought that these fields 351 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: were classical fields. It could just have any value. And 352 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: then we discovered that they have a minimum value and 353 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: they have steps to them, So it is a quantum field. 354 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: This is a quantum field we're talking about. And so 355 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: ripples in this electromagnetic field are, for example, the photon, 356 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: which is one quantum of the electromagnetic field. So that 357 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: the electron is a ripple in the electromagnetic field, or 358 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: it's a ripple in its own quantum field, but they're 359 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: sitting in another field, which is the electromagnetic force field. Right. 360 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: The electron is a ripple in the electron field, right, 361 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 1: and it generates ripples in the electromagnetic field, which is 362 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,640 Speaker 1: the field of the photon. And that's because these two 363 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,199 Speaker 1: particles talk to each other, electrons and photons talk to 364 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,160 Speaker 1: each other. Or in the language of fields, you could 365 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: say these two fields couple. You could have a universe 366 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: in which you have a particle and then another field 367 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 1: and they don't interact at all. Right, For example, like 368 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: neutrinos are wiggles in the neutrino field, but they don't 369 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: affect the electromagnetic field at all. They have no charge. 370 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,239 Speaker 1: And so electrons are wiggles in the electron field as 371 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: a quantum field, but they also create wiggles in the 372 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: electromagnetic field because they have charged as a charge that 373 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: connects these two fields. Charges, Like how much these two 374 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,359 Speaker 1: fields are connected for that one particle. Yeah, And interestingly, 375 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: for electromagnetism, there's assigned to it. There's two different kinds 376 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,720 Speaker 1: of charges, and that determines the shape of the potential 377 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: from the field and whether they attract or repel. All right, 378 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: let's field more questions about this main question of does 379 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: the weak force attractor repel? And so let's get into 380 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: the weak force itself when we come back from the break. 381 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: But first let's take a quick break. All right, we're 382 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: talking about the weak force and whether or not it's 383 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: attractive or repulsive. I guess, Daniel, is that the same 384 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,440 Speaker 1: as asking whether it's hot or not? Is it appealing 385 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,120 Speaker 1: or not appealing? Well, I find it mysterious, which makes 386 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: me want to know more. And so I think the 387 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: weak force is definitely pretty hot, but it's pretty weak. 388 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: It can't heat anything up, so it leaves the universe 389 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: kind of cold. We were talking about the first electromagnetic 390 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: force and how the force of it is actually the 391 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: interaction of two particles in the electromagnetic field, and that 392 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: happens when they exchange photons, and it's all because of 393 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: the charge of the particles. But I guess you know, 394 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: that's the way to look at things. But another way 395 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: to look at it things might be the same way 396 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: that we look at gravity, right Like gravity, we look 397 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: at at it in a totally different way right now, Yeah, 398 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: gravity actually is really interesting, and you can look at 399 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 1: it using the same sort of set of concepts. You 400 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 1: can say, like, well, what does gravity do? Gravity only attracts, 401 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: and you can think about it like call the mass 402 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,119 Speaker 1: I'm an object to be like the version of electric 403 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:29,439 Speaker 1: charge for gravity. And because objects only have positive mass, 404 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: you only have one kind of charge for gravity. So 405 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: when we say charge, we mean like a more general concept, 406 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,400 Speaker 1: not just for electromagnetism, we mean like for any kind 407 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: of force. Does the particle field that field, it feels 408 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 1: the field if it has the right charge. And so 409 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: for electromagnetism, you say, well, electric charge tells you whether 410 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,200 Speaker 1: it feels the force or not. For gravity, it's mass. 411 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 1: Mass is the charge for gravity. And this is what 412 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: sort of blew my mind when I realized this years ago. 413 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: And it's also a friend from electromagnetism because in electromagnetism, 414 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: if you have the same charge, like two electrons, they 415 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: repel each other. But in gravity, if you have the 416 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,640 Speaker 1: same charge two objects with positive mass had the same 417 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: charge they're both positive, then they attract each other rather 418 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: than repel. I see. So there are two main forces 419 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: that people are most familiar with, gravity and electromagnetism. One 420 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: of them pushes in pools, that's electromagnetism, and gravity only 421 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: pulls things together. So that's kind of weird, right, It 422 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: is weird, and it makes me wonder, like, what would 423 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,679 Speaker 1: happen if we had negative mass? Right? If we had 424 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: negative mass, with two negative masses attract each other with 425 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 1: a positive and negative mass repel each other, that would 426 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: be super weird and fun. Yeah, I think a lot 427 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 1: of people would love to have negative mass. These days 428 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: after the toy, staying at homes for so long, eating 429 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: things out of the fridge. But just to summarize, so 430 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,439 Speaker 1: the electromagnetic force attracts and repels and gravity attracts, so 431 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: not now the question is what does the weak force do? 432 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,880 Speaker 1: Does it also attract and repel or one of the two. Yeah, 433 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:08,680 Speaker 1: it's really fascinating and kind of complicated. So the weak 434 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 1: force is kind of a big mess. It's not as 435 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: simple as electromagnetism or gravity. And one reason is that 436 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: has three particles that mediated. So electromagnetism has the photon 437 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 1: is everything. For electromagnetism, Gravity we don't know. Maybe it 438 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 1: has the graviton. We're not sure if it's quantized, but 439 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 1: it's pretty straightforward from that perspective. The weak force has 440 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: three of these things, has three separate particles or three 441 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: separate fields that mediate its forces. You have the W plus, 442 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,719 Speaker 1: the W minus, and the Z So these are like 443 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 1: three different weird heavy photons that communicate it. So it's 444 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,480 Speaker 1: much more complicated than any of the other forces. Interesting. 445 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: So it's like when two particles that feel the weak 446 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: force talk to each other, they do it through three 447 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,639 Speaker 1: different ways. You're saying like, there's three different particles that 448 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: can communicate this force. Yeah, exactly, So the weak force 449 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,199 Speaker 1: can do sort of three different things and they're all 450 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: part of the same force. I mean, you might imagine 451 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: like a different history of science where we had discovered 452 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: these different parts of the weak force separately and called 453 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: them different things, and then some other version of Steve 454 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 1: Weinberg had realized, oh, this makes more sense. We should 455 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: click them all together. And so it's sort of like 456 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: three forces fit together into like the ultimate transformer force, 457 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: and that makes more sense. And then you know, you 458 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: plug in the photon, you get all the beautiful symmetry 459 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 1: of having those four particles altogether. But these three, the 460 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: W plus, the W minus, and the Z, we call 461 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: these together the weak force. Now, are those separate three 462 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 1: different quantum fields or is it one quantum field but 463 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: three different ways to kind of activate it or to 464 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 1: wiggle it. There are three quantum fields. There's a fields 465 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 1: for the W plus, for the de W minus, and 466 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,520 Speaker 1: for the Z. The amazing thing is that they work together. 467 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 1: There's like symmetries that they respect, Like something can move 468 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: from one to the other, but it conserves this number, 469 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 1: which is like the charge for the weak force. So 470 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: it's definitely clear that they are three re separate things, 471 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: but they work together as part of a whole. Interesting. Yeah, 472 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: I guess that question would be why not call it 473 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: three different forces? You're saying it's like three quantum fields, 474 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 1: but they're all depending on each other so that they 475 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,439 Speaker 1: actually act as one. Yeah, it's like, why don't you 476 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,440 Speaker 1: call the heads and the tails two different coins? Well, 477 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: it makes much more sense to call it one thing, because, 478 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: for example, a coin is either heads up or tails up. 479 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,560 Speaker 1: It's never both, right, And so the two are definitely 480 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: connected their sinc they fit together. These three fields are 481 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: the same way. They connect together into one thing, which 482 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 1: is much more simple mathematically than any of the individual parts. 483 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 1: All right, so the weak force talks through three different 484 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: quantum fields, or three different particles W plus, W minus 485 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: and the Z. Now is there the equivalent of a 486 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,880 Speaker 1: charge in the weak force, like we have electric charge 487 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 1: or mass? There is, Yes, it's got its own kind 488 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: of charge. Has a really weird name. The name for 489 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 1: it is weak iso spin, And every particle that feels 490 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,360 Speaker 1: the weak force has a value for weak isospin, which 491 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: is either up or down. So just like the electromagnetic 492 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: force can push or pull on everything with an electric charge, 493 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: which is either plus or minus. The weak force can 494 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: tug or push on things that have either up or 495 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: down values of the weak isospin. I guess why call 496 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: it the weak isso spin? Why not call it the 497 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: weak charge. Yeah, that's a long story that comes from history. 498 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: People tried to create this idea of isospin, which is 499 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:31,679 Speaker 1: like a generalized version of spin for the strong force, 500 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,359 Speaker 1: and it works really well there, and then when people 501 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 1: were studying the weak force, they thought maybe there's something 502 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,400 Speaker 1: similar over here, so they created a version of that. 503 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 1: It doesn't really work, but the name stuck. So yeah, 504 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 1: it would be better if we called it like the 505 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: weak charge or something. But the weak isso spin is 506 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: the name we got. And these are actually numbers, but 507 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:52,360 Speaker 1: instead of just plus or mine, as you say, up 508 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,879 Speaker 1: or down, right, these are just numbers that the particles have. 509 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,960 Speaker 1: Just like the electron just happens to have negative charge. 510 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:03,880 Speaker 1: Some particles have up quantum week is spin, yeah exactly, 511 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: And so we call them up or down so to 512 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,920 Speaker 1: by convention, because for example, of corks have up weak 513 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:14,640 Speaker 1: isospin and down corks have down weak isospin, and then 514 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: the electron has down weak isospin and neutrinos have up. 515 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: You can also map this if you're more comfortable with 516 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 1: numbers to the number line, in which case we say, 517 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:29,719 Speaker 1: for example, that neutrinos have positive a half weak isospin, 518 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 1: and electrons have minus a half. Up corks also have 519 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: positive a half and down corks have minus a half. 520 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,919 Speaker 1: But this is like a different sort of dimension for 521 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 1: every particle than electric charge, Like there's no relationship between 522 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: the electric charge and the weak isospin. For example, neutrinos 523 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: have no electric charge, but they do have weak isospin. Interesting, 524 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 1: So like an up cork is just a cord that 525 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 1: has up weak isospin exactly, and that's why we call 526 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: it up because it sits at the top of weak isospin, 527 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: and that's why we call it down corks down. And 528 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 1: that's why top corks are called top corks because they 529 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,720 Speaker 1: have up weak isospin. So when we lay out these 530 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: generation of particles, we group them into these pairs that 531 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: are like up and down charming strange top and bottom. 532 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:18,360 Speaker 1: The top row there up charm top. They'll have up 533 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,119 Speaker 1: type weak isospin and the bottom row. I'll have down type. 534 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: All right, Well, how would you even define this weak isospin? 535 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:27,680 Speaker 1: Is it just sort of like how much a particle 536 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 1: interacts with the weak fields? Is that the equivalent of 537 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,119 Speaker 1: like electric charge? Yeah, exactly. It's the thing that tells 538 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 1: you whether a particle feels the weak force, whether it 539 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: interacts with the weak force. And in analogy with the 540 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: other forces, if you have no electric charge, you don't 541 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: feel electric forces. Like a neutrino can fly right through 542 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: the most powerful electric fields and totally shrug it off 543 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: because it doesn't have charge. And so weak isospin is 544 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 1: the thing that tells you whether a particle feels the force. 545 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 1: But it's something a little bit more than that, you know, 546 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,360 Speaker 1: because the fascinating thing is that there's a symmetry. Right, 547 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,600 Speaker 1: these forces, the W plus, the W minus, and the 548 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: Z they have this really fascinating symmetry to them. It's 549 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 1: not a physical symmetry. It's not like, you know, if 550 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,520 Speaker 1: you rotated it like a spear, it looks exactly the same. 551 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: It's an internal symmetry. These forces all have like angles 552 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: to them, and if you rotate the particles, they rotate 553 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: together and they work together and the upshot is that 554 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: they end up conserving this thing called weak isospin. So 555 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: these particles and their interactions they conserve weak isospin the 556 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: way the photon, for example, conserves electric charge. You can't 557 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: just like create electric charge willy nilly, in the same 558 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: way the weak force preserves weak isospin. If you have it, 559 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 1: it's going to stick around. If you don't have it, 560 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: you can't create it. Interesting, it's because sort of like 561 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: a universal rule. Yeah, and it's you know, connected to 562 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: this concept we've talked about a few times in the podcast. 563 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 1: No those theorem that tells you that any symmetry in 564 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,800 Speaker 1: physics leads to conservation law. So there's some like internal 565 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: symmetry between these particles that W plus the wus and 566 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: the Z where like if you rotate them internally, they 567 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: turned into each other. But they do it in this 568 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 1: way that preserves a certain number and that leads directly 569 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,719 Speaker 1: to conservation of weak isospin the same way, for example, 570 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,240 Speaker 1: the photon is responsible for conserving electric charge. So it's 571 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,400 Speaker 1: really like a deep thing in physics. When you discover 572 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,959 Speaker 1: this number which doesn't change, it tells you you've found 573 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: something about the universe. Which feels fundamental or important because 574 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,920 Speaker 1: it in its bookkeeping, it makes sure that this number 575 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: doesn't yet changed. The universe has an accountant, and it 576 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,880 Speaker 1: has a special account for that weak iso spin is 577 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: what you're saying exactly, and again, these are just sort 578 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: of random numbers, right, Like, we don't know why. For example, 579 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: some particles have you know, up half isospin or negative 580 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: have isospin. Right, these are it's just sort of arbitrary almost. Yeah, well, 581 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: we don't know if there's rhyme or reason to it, 582 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: but you're right, our level of understanding is we're just 583 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,400 Speaker 1: sort like writing these things down in our lab notebook. 584 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,640 Speaker 1: We don't understand why particles have different values. We're just 585 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: sort of tabulating it and looking for patterns. And you know, 586 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: the numbers are pretty weird, Like weak eys of spin 587 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: is actually pretty straightforward. Is either plus a half or 588 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: minus a half. If you look at like electric charge, 589 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: it's weird, you know, like neutrinos have zero, electrons have 590 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 1: minus one. Up corks have plus two thirds, down corks 591 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: have minus the third. It's kind of crazy, and we 592 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 1: don't understand why those numbers are what they are. I mean, 593 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: in some sense they're arbitrary, like you could make them 594 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,480 Speaker 1: twice what they are or half what they are, and 595 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: then you could take that number and like you know, 596 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 1: weekend or strengthen the feeling of the force. But the 597 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: relationships between them and our arbitrary. Like that's just what 598 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,640 Speaker 1: we see in nature. And then also the name weak 599 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,440 Speaker 1: force you said, comes from this, not that it's not 600 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 1: that the weak force is weak. It's just that it's 601 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: doesn't have long range or something. Right, it's due to 602 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: these particles, these force particles having mass. Yeah, these particles 603 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: that W plus the W minus in the Z, they 604 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: have a lot of mass. And that's actually really fascinating 605 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: because it's what makes the weak force different from electricity 606 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,200 Speaker 1: and magnetism. We think back in the very early days 607 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: of the universe, before the Higgs field, that all these 608 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,040 Speaker 1: particles were massless and they were flying all the way 609 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: around the universe. And then the Higgs field came and 610 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: it made three of these particles have mass. The W 611 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: plus the W minus and the Z got a huge 612 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,440 Speaker 1: amount of mass from the Higgs field, and now they 613 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: are very heavy, and as you say, that makes them weak, 614 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 1: it means that it's much less likely for this interaction 615 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 1: to happen, Like if you shoot two neutrinos at each other, 616 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,760 Speaker 1: they're much less likely to interact then if you shoot 617 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: two electrons, because the weak force is weaker than electromagnetism. 618 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 1: It's also shorter range, as you say, because the particles 619 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: can't fly as far, but it's also weaker, it's less 620 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,000 Speaker 1: likely to sort of like come into play when you 621 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: shoot two particles at each other. I guess the question 622 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,600 Speaker 1: is how as having mass make it less likely to 623 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,800 Speaker 1: interact or harder to interact and also a shorter range, 624 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 1: you can think of them as nected, like imagine shooting 625 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 1: two particles together, and you know, the probability of them 626 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: interacting sort of depends on their relative distance. Like if 627 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,120 Speaker 1: you shoot them in the same direction but they're like 628 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: a meter apart, there's gonna be no chance to interact. 629 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 1: As they get closer and closer together, then there's a 630 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,200 Speaker 1: larger and larger chance that they interact. And we talk 631 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 1: about the chance that interaction is being like the relative 632 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,720 Speaker 1: cross section, like a physical analogies, you throw like two 633 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: balls at each other, the chance that they're gonna hit 634 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: each other depends on their cross section, Like how big 635 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 1: does one appear to the other, And so we have 636 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 1: sort of a quantum analog of that, which we call 637 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: again the cross section, And the cross section is smaller 638 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,040 Speaker 1: if the particle that mediate it has a lot of mass. 639 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: The fact that it's a shorter range force means it 640 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,200 Speaker 1: has a smaller cross section when the particles coming the 641 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 1: other direction. So you have to sort of like get 642 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: right on the nose in order to have that interaction happen, 643 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 1: Whereas if you're you're using photons, they can fly everywhere. 644 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 1: You don't have to like shoot electrons to be as 645 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,520 Speaker 1: close to each other for them to feel each other. Yeah, 646 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 1: but I guess you know, what does it mean to 647 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 1: have short range Like what happens to the particle, Like 648 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 1: it disappears or breaks up into other particles because it 649 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: has mass, which means it has energy. Yeah, exactly, if 650 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: you shoot a Z particle, for example, it can't just 651 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: fly across the universe forever the way a photon can, 652 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 1: Like a photon made billions of years ago can still 653 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:16,839 Speaker 1: just fly through the universe towards you. If you make 654 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,520 Speaker 1: a Z particle billions of years ago, it will decay 655 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:22,640 Speaker 1: pretty quickly into something else. Because it's so heavy it 656 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: will turn into a pair of electrons or a pair 657 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,439 Speaker 1: of neutrinos or something. So they just don't last very long, 658 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:29,960 Speaker 1: right because it can, right, because it has this sort 659 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,640 Speaker 1: of internal energy from the mass, and so it tends 660 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: to like disperse kind of exactly, whereas photons are stable 661 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:38,839 Speaker 1: and they can propagate forever, but these dissipated and turn 662 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 1: into other fields. It's like throwing a snowball in a 663 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,319 Speaker 1: windstorm or something like the it just breaks up, yeah, 664 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:46,359 Speaker 1: or like throwing a snowball in death Valley. Right, it's 665 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,560 Speaker 1: just it's probably gonna melt before it gets to your 666 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 1: friend's face, which sounds like a fun activity. But I 667 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: guess maybe a question is is the week force, you know, 668 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 1: weak in itself? Like if it could travel further, would 669 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: it still be weak or would it have an inherently 670 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,759 Speaker 1: lower kind of interactive value or impact, Like is it 671 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:08,960 Speaker 1: as strong as the other forces? But because it decays 672 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:10,960 Speaker 1: and it has a short range, it's you call it 673 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,239 Speaker 1: weak because of that. Yeah, I would say so if 674 00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: for example, we lived in a universe where it didn't 675 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:18,759 Speaker 1: get mass right with the Z and the W propagated 676 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:20,759 Speaker 1: the same way as the photon, it would be as 677 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,640 Speaker 1: strong as electromagnetism. All right, I think we covered the 678 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: basics and now let's get into the main question, which 679 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,919 Speaker 1: is does the weak force attract or repel? But first 680 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:45,839 Speaker 1: let's take another quick break. All right, does the weak 681 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,799 Speaker 1: force attract or repel? And Daniel, we talked about it 682 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,800 Speaker 1: being weak because it doesn't have a very long range. 683 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:56,000 Speaker 1: The particles that transmit this force decay before they get 684 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:58,279 Speaker 1: very far. But I guess the question is if it 685 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,279 Speaker 1: does reach their target. It like if you if two 686 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,200 Speaker 1: particles do interact with a W plus or W minus 687 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,480 Speaker 1: or Z force particle, are they gonna make each other 688 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,600 Speaker 1: come closer or further apart? Yes, so, because the weak 689 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,240 Speaker 1: force is a lot like electricity magnetism, and because actually 690 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 1: they're just part of a larger force. In general, it 691 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,680 Speaker 1: follows the same rules as electricity and magnetism, which means 692 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 1: if you have the same weak charge right weak isospin, 693 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:28,759 Speaker 1: then particles will repel each other. Via the opposite weak isospin, 694 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,560 Speaker 1: then particles will attract each other. So that makes it 695 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,919 Speaker 1: similar to electromagnetism and different from gravity. All right, well, 696 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 1: then we answer the question, it does attract and repel. 697 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:41,160 Speaker 1: It does attract and repel, and there's some interesting wrinkles 698 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,319 Speaker 1: to it. Right. For example, you asked earlier, like what 699 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: can a force do other than attract and repel? And 700 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:50,160 Speaker 1: the W particle is an example of that. Right, The 701 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,400 Speaker 1: W particle doesn't just attract or repel. In fact, you 702 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,840 Speaker 1: can't even really think of it as attracting or repelling 703 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,719 Speaker 1: because the W particle transforms a particle. It doesn't just 704 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,400 Speaker 1: like push it or pull it. It changes it into 705 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,319 Speaker 1: something else because the W particle itself, for example, has 706 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:11,480 Speaker 1: electric charge. Wait what so Like, let's have two particles, 707 00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:14,680 Speaker 1: you know, to electrons in the electron field, and they 708 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,800 Speaker 1: interact through the week fource. You're saying, like, the exchange 709 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:20,520 Speaker 1: a W particle and then that doesn't move them, but 710 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 1: it just changes one of them. It both moves them 711 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: and changes both of them. So, for example, if an 712 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:29,239 Speaker 1: electron interacts with a W particle, what how does it 713 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:31,560 Speaker 1: do that? Well, to give off a W particle, it 714 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,680 Speaker 1: has to lose its electric charge because the W particle 715 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:39,000 Speaker 1: itself has electric charge. Like an electron can radiate a photon, 716 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,520 Speaker 1: photon is charge zero doesn't change the electron it's still 717 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:44,920 Speaker 1: an electron. It's just an electron with less energy now 718 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 1: or something. But the electron radiates a W, the electric 719 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,800 Speaker 1: charge has to be conserved, and so that electric charge 720 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,800 Speaker 1: goes with the W and the electron is no longer 721 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,360 Speaker 1: an electron. It turns into a new trino. So for 722 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,880 Speaker 1: an electron to radiate a W, it has to become 723 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:02,120 Speaker 1: a new trino, And for neutrino to feel a W, 724 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: it has to turn into an electron. So the W 725 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,799 Speaker 1: particles here do much more than just push or pull. 726 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,239 Speaker 1: They transform these particles. Interesting, but does that mean that 727 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:13,960 Speaker 1: an electron can talk to another electron through the W 728 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,120 Speaker 1: or it cannot? Absolutely, it can. It can read a W, 729 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,400 Speaker 1: and that W can interact with an electron because the 730 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:23,240 Speaker 1: W feels a charge and the electron feels a charge, 731 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:25,440 Speaker 1: and so then that W and the electron can like 732 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:28,760 Speaker 1: attract or repel each other based on their relative charges. 733 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:32,000 Speaker 1: So absolutely, and the electron can also interact with other 734 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 1: electrons using the Z particle. So it's kind of like 735 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 1: the electromagnetic force, but it's just like it has added 736 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,600 Speaker 1: complications because these force particles are have you know, more 737 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:46,080 Speaker 1: to them. They have energy and an electric charge, whereas 738 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:48,799 Speaker 1: the photon doesn't exactly, So it's out of this big 739 00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 1: complicated mess. It's got two of these charged bosons, a 740 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:54,600 Speaker 1: W plus and W minus, which can do these crazy things, 741 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:57,200 Speaker 1: you know, like change the charge of the particle that 742 00:38:57,280 --> 00:38:59,560 Speaker 1: was radiating it. Oh wait, wait wait, that's what the 743 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:03,440 Speaker 1: plus means. The plus means it has positive electric charge. Yeah, 744 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,520 Speaker 1: for once the plus actually means something reasonable, It actually 745 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:09,839 Speaker 1: makes sense. Yeah, good job. All this time you thought 746 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: the W plus were just like, well, it can't actually 747 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,799 Speaker 1: mean positive charge because that would make sense. I don't know. 748 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:17,520 Speaker 1: It seems like you guys use it kind of willy 749 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:19,719 Speaker 1: knee leak, right because even the up and do you 750 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:21,839 Speaker 1: use plus and minus for it? Right? Yeah, that's right. 751 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,719 Speaker 1: But no, the W plus has a plus one electric 752 00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:27,439 Speaker 1: charge and the W minus has a minus one electric charge. 753 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:30,120 Speaker 1: That's exactly what it means. And the Z is neutral. 754 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:32,719 Speaker 1: The Z has no electric charge. So like, if too 755 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 1: electrons exchange a Z, then they don't change, or they 756 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:39,080 Speaker 1: still change, or they push each other. What happens when 757 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:42,040 Speaker 1: they exchange a Z. Yeah, So if you have electrons 758 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,840 Speaker 1: and positrons, they can exchange photons and they can exchange 759 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,640 Speaker 1: Z particles. And now if they exchange photons, you know 760 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:49,879 Speaker 1: what the rules are. Right, If the charges are the same, 761 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,960 Speaker 1: they repel each other. The charges of the opposite they 762 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: attract each other. The same rule applies for the Z, 763 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,840 Speaker 1: but if the charge is different, because the charge for 764 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:02,319 Speaker 1: the Z is the weak isospin, And so you can 765 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,040 Speaker 1: then ask the question like, due to electrons attract or 766 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:07,920 Speaker 1: repel each other using the Z and the answer is 767 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,719 Speaker 1: that the electrons have the same weak iso spin because 768 00:40:11,719 --> 00:40:14,279 Speaker 1: it's just two electrons, and so they repel each other 769 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 1: the same way like two positrons will repel each other. 770 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,600 Speaker 1: They have the same weak isospin, so they have to repel. 771 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 1: But I guess maybe a difference is that the Z 772 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:25,200 Speaker 1: force particle doesn't go at the speed of light, right 773 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:28,239 Speaker 1: because it has mass, so it's like a slower force too. Yeah, 774 00:40:28,239 --> 00:40:30,640 Speaker 1: and so the Z is weaker. And so usually if 775 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,880 Speaker 1: two electrons are interacting, it's just dominated by the photon 776 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 1: interaction because that's much stronger and longer range. The Z contributes, 777 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,680 Speaker 1: but it's like almost ignorable, which is why in chemistry, 778 00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:45,799 Speaker 1: for example, you're mostly thinking about like the electromagnetic interactions 779 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:49,719 Speaker 1: between electrons and atoms and electrons and neighboring atoms. There 780 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:53,320 Speaker 1: are some weak force interactions there, but they're mostly ignorable 781 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:58,040 Speaker 1: because the weak force is so much weaker than electromagnetism. Oh. Interesting, 782 00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:02,240 Speaker 1: it's like it's always happening. They're just like electromagnetic forces, 783 00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:05,840 Speaker 1: but they're just you know, so weak that nobody cares. 784 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 1: But it's always happening. Like even within the particles in 785 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:11,200 Speaker 1: my body, there's a whole bunch of you know, weak 786 00:41:11,239 --> 00:41:15,480 Speaker 1: stuff going on, but it's sort of negligible. Yeah, exactly, 787 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:19,720 Speaker 1: it's mostly just washed out by electromagnetism. And it's interesting 788 00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:22,560 Speaker 1: to think about, like is it always pushing and pulling 789 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:27,080 Speaker 1: in the same direction or is it sometimes like opposing electromagnetism. 790 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:29,520 Speaker 1: And the answer is that it's always pushing and pulling 791 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:31,960 Speaker 1: in the same direction. And the reason is that it 792 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,279 Speaker 1: follows the same basic rule that like charges repel and 793 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,719 Speaker 1: opposite charges attract, and it just so happens that like 794 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:44,120 Speaker 1: electrons and neutrinos have opposite charges, and up corks and 795 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:48,920 Speaker 1: down corks have opposite electric charges and opposite weak isospin charges. 796 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,640 Speaker 1: So you know, for example, take an upcork and a 797 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:55,720 Speaker 1: down cork For example, an upcork and a down cork 798 00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:59,360 Speaker 1: have opposite sign electric charges. One of them is plus 799 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,960 Speaker 1: two thirds the other one is minus one third, so 800 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:06,480 Speaker 1: they attract each other. They also have opposite week iso spin. 801 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,800 Speaker 1: One is plus a half, one is minus a half, 802 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:11,440 Speaker 1: so they attract each other. So in that case, the 803 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,120 Speaker 1: upcork and the down cork, the photon is pulling them 804 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:16,680 Speaker 1: together and the Z is pulling them together. I mean, 805 00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:20,439 Speaker 1: like plus electric charge is always associated with up kind 806 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:22,560 Speaker 1: of or one of those two, like you never mix 807 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:25,440 Speaker 1: and match him that much. Plus electric charge is always 808 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:29,280 Speaker 1: associated with up week iso spin, and minus electric charge 809 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:33,759 Speaker 1: is always associated with minus weak isospin exactly. But there's 810 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,840 Speaker 1: one weird case, right, There's always a weird case, and 811 00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:40,200 Speaker 1: the weird case is the neutrino. The neutrino has no 812 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:43,840 Speaker 1: electric charge, right, so the photon doesn't push or pull. 813 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:46,200 Speaker 1: So in the case of the neutrino, the Z is 814 00:42:46,239 --> 00:42:49,160 Speaker 1: the only thing pushing and pulling. And so there are 815 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,640 Speaker 1: no other weird cases where like you know, it has 816 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:55,200 Speaker 1: a plus electric charge, but like a down that never happens. 817 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:58,560 Speaker 1: It's always of a line these two forces exactly. Because 818 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 1: the anti particles have opposite values, but they flipped together. 819 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,920 Speaker 1: So for example, an up cork has positive electric charge 820 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,799 Speaker 1: and positive weak isospin, and an anti up cork has 821 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:14,080 Speaker 1: negative both values, negative electric charge and negative weak isospin. 822 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:16,440 Speaker 1: So they're always pointing in the same direction and they 823 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,880 Speaker 1: flipped together. But theoretically there could be particles maybe that 824 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:23,799 Speaker 1: have a weird combination. We just don't see them. Yeah. Absolutely. 825 00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:26,799 Speaker 1: And the interesting thing about the weak force is everything 826 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:30,120 Speaker 1: feels it. Like the other forces, there's always some particle 827 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:33,000 Speaker 1: that ignores it, you know, the strong force. Electrons don't 828 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:37,800 Speaker 1: feel the strong force, totally ignore it, electromagnetism, neutrinos totally 829 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,040 Speaker 1: ignore it. Nothing ignores the weak force. The weak force 830 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,960 Speaker 1: feels everything. Wait, what do you mean? It feels everything, 831 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:46,720 Speaker 1: Like every particle in the universe feels the weak force. 832 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:49,600 Speaker 1: There is no particle out there that doesn't interact with 833 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:53,400 Speaker 1: the weak force. There are particles that don't interact with electricity, magnetism, 834 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:55,800 Speaker 1: and there are particles that don't interact with the strong force. 835 00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:59,200 Speaker 1: But there's no particle we've discovered that doesn't interact with 836 00:43:59,239 --> 00:44:01,239 Speaker 1: the weak force, sort of like gravity, right, Like, we 837 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:04,680 Speaker 1: don't know any particle that doesn't interact with gravity. Yeah, 838 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:07,680 Speaker 1: although we don't really understand you know, how particles and 839 00:44:07,719 --> 00:44:10,080 Speaker 1: gravity interact, you know, what's going on there on the 840 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:12,920 Speaker 1: quantum level. It's not something we can really say specifically 841 00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:16,040 Speaker 1: how that works. But you're right that, like everything we know, 842 00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:19,320 Speaker 1: moves through space, and the curvature of that space depends 843 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:21,600 Speaker 1: on the massive stuff around it. But again we don't 844 00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:23,960 Speaker 1: understand it at the quantum level. But I think it's 845 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:26,880 Speaker 1: fun to think about like two neutrinos. Like you shoot 846 00:44:26,880 --> 00:44:30,560 Speaker 1: two neutrinos at each other, they actually do repel or 847 00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:34,960 Speaker 1: attract each other based on their weak isospin. Like two 848 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,239 Speaker 1: neutrinos will repel each other, and a neutrino and an 849 00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:41,600 Speaker 1: anti neutrino will attract each other because they have opposite 850 00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:45,640 Speaker 1: weak isospin. Yeah, just like two electrons will repel each other. Now, 851 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:47,880 Speaker 1: you said that the weak force is sort of like 852 00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,640 Speaker 1: part of the electromagnetic force, or they're all part of 853 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,279 Speaker 1: the same force. What does that mean? Like they're sort 854 00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:56,040 Speaker 1: of coupled, they depend on each other, they're not independent. 855 00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:58,160 Speaker 1: What does that mean? It means that it makes more 856 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:00,839 Speaker 1: sense mathematically when you plug them to gether. In fact, 857 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:03,680 Speaker 1: we don't think about weak isospin on its own. Usually 858 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:06,600 Speaker 1: what we do is we think about electricity and magnetism 859 00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,719 Speaker 1: together and we make this new number which is a 860 00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:14,040 Speaker 1: combination of electric charge and weak isospin, and we call 861 00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:17,920 Speaker 1: it weak hypercharge. And then we have these two numbers 862 00:45:18,239 --> 00:45:22,239 Speaker 1: week isso spin and weak hypercharge, and together these four 863 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:26,960 Speaker 1: particles conserve these numbers. Like, these four particles respect these values. 864 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,239 Speaker 1: They do what they can to make sure that in 865 00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:33,000 Speaker 1: the bookkeeping of the universe, these two quantities weak hypercharge 866 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,399 Speaker 1: and weak isospin are conserved. And so we see them 867 00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:39,480 Speaker 1: all working together to keep this symmetry in line, which 868 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,399 Speaker 1: is why we think they're all part of the same thing. Well, 869 00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:44,279 Speaker 1: I see, you notice that they are sort of part 870 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:46,800 Speaker 1: of the same team, or they were, they weren't for 871 00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,800 Speaker 1: the same company which has the same accounting you know, Ledger, 872 00:45:50,239 --> 00:45:52,759 Speaker 1: and so you sort of group them together, unlike say, 873 00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,239 Speaker 1: like the strong force or maybe gravity. Like gravity and 874 00:45:56,360 --> 00:45:59,400 Speaker 1: the strong force don't care about the conservation of this 875 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:02,399 Speaker 1: hyper charge. That's exactly right. And you know, we tend 876 00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:04,560 Speaker 1: to think about things that way, where like if things 877 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:09,320 Speaker 1: transformed together, if when you rotate the world, things move together. 878 00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:11,719 Speaker 1: We think that there's part of the same thing. Just 879 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:13,440 Speaker 1: like if you pick something up and you turn it 880 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:16,719 Speaker 1: around and it holds itself together, and you look at 881 00:46:16,719 --> 00:46:18,880 Speaker 1: it from different directions and it feels like it keeps 882 00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,920 Speaker 1: the same shape, you think it's always one thing, whereas 883 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:24,440 Speaker 1: if you pick it up and it falls into pieces, like, oh, 884 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:26,279 Speaker 1: it's a bunch of different stuff. It just happened to 885 00:46:26,320 --> 00:46:28,719 Speaker 1: be near each other. And in that same way, the 886 00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:31,719 Speaker 1: photon like fits in with these other three particles to 887 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:35,520 Speaker 1: make one cohesive mathematical object, which if you rotate in 888 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:39,440 Speaker 1: this like mathematical way, keeps its same shape. It conserves 889 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:41,920 Speaker 1: these numbers. All right, Well, I think that answers the 890 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:44,440 Speaker 1: question does the weak force attract or repel? And the 891 00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,880 Speaker 1: answer is yes. But it's a little bit more complicated, 892 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:51,800 Speaker 1: right because the force that transmits it also has charge 893 00:46:52,120 --> 00:46:55,360 Speaker 1: and mass, and so it's it gets complicated. It's not 894 00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:57,680 Speaker 1: a straight up relationship. It does get complicated. But I 895 00:46:57,680 --> 00:46:59,640 Speaker 1: think it's pretty cool that we can use sort of 896 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:02,480 Speaker 1: the sim Miller ideas we used to think about electricity 897 00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:06,879 Speaker 1: and magnetism, charges and potentials to think about whether these 898 00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:09,440 Speaker 1: things push and pull, And it's even much richer than 899 00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:12,000 Speaker 1: we've got to talk about on the podcast, because there's 900 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,560 Speaker 1: two kinds of particles. There are left handed particles and 901 00:47:14,680 --> 00:47:18,360 Speaker 1: right handed particles, and only the left handed particles actually 902 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:20,840 Speaker 1: do this kind of interaction. The right handed particles don't 903 00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:23,799 Speaker 1: do it. So it's even more complicated than we talked about. 904 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:27,480 Speaker 1: The weak force is like a huge mathematical headache slash 905 00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:34,600 Speaker 1: delicious puzzle slash weak strong problem kind of yeah, it's 906 00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:37,879 Speaker 1: sort of like attracts and repels physicists. All right, well, um, 907 00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:40,120 Speaker 1: I guess maybe one last question is why did you 908 00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:42,560 Speaker 1: find this question so hard? Like, you know, we broke 909 00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:46,000 Speaker 1: it down and it seemed like something that you know, 910 00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:48,080 Speaker 1: two things have the same week. I's just been the 911 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:51,880 Speaker 1: repellor or and if they don't they attract what was 912 00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:53,319 Speaker 1: the thing that was stomping in? I think it's just 913 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:55,560 Speaker 1: because I've never thought about the weak force in terms 914 00:47:55,600 --> 00:47:58,000 Speaker 1: of its potential you mean to push and pull, like 915 00:47:58,080 --> 00:48:00,399 Speaker 1: its ability to push or pool things, just because it's 916 00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:02,399 Speaker 1: so weak. Yeah, just because it's so weak, and also 917 00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:05,760 Speaker 1: because frankly, there's some layers of mathematical complexity I'm hiding 918 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:08,600 Speaker 1: from you here, Like there's actually two different potentials that 919 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:11,640 Speaker 1: the z has has an axcel potential and an axial 920 00:48:11,719 --> 00:48:14,200 Speaker 1: vector potential, and so I had to actually work through 921 00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:17,200 Speaker 1: whether they're always working together or sometimes working apart from 922 00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:19,480 Speaker 1: each other, as whether or not we need to dig 923 00:48:19,520 --> 00:48:22,560 Speaker 1: into that. So one issue was like how deep to 924 00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:24,239 Speaker 1: go into this? You know, we could do like ten 925 00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:27,640 Speaker 1: podcast episodes of quantum field theory engage symmetry before we 926 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:29,600 Speaker 1: get to the answer. All right, let's do it. Daniel, 927 00:48:29,719 --> 00:48:33,080 Speaker 1: I got ten hours. Alright, alright, well, thank you to 928 00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:35,960 Speaker 1: the person who asked this question, the organic chemistry professor. 929 00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:38,319 Speaker 1: I think you should watch out because Daniel might come 930 00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:41,800 Speaker 1: to your office hours and lay down some tough organic chemistry. 931 00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:45,839 Speaker 1: That sounds like a threat, man, an economic threat. He's 932 00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:47,759 Speaker 1: going to be nervous every time he has office hours 933 00:48:47,800 --> 00:48:49,759 Speaker 1: from now on. Oh man, he's gonna be looking out 934 00:48:49,800 --> 00:48:52,239 Speaker 1: for you. All right. Well, we hope you enjoyed that 935 00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:55,120 Speaker 1: and made you think a little bit about all the 936 00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:57,120 Speaker 1: things that are happening inside of your body right now. 937 00:48:57,160 --> 00:49:00,800 Speaker 1: There's a lot of stuff going on in between your articles, 938 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:04,919 Speaker 1: not just electromagnetic forces, but this really strange and complicated 939 00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,280 Speaker 1: thing called the weak force. And all these forces working 940 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:11,120 Speaker 1: together are what create the fabric of reality that we 941 00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:14,240 Speaker 1: experience around us. The world wouldn't be the same without 942 00:49:14,320 --> 00:49:17,640 Speaker 1: just one of these forces. It would feel palpably different. 943 00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:20,479 Speaker 1: It wouldn't be nearly as delicious. We might be those 944 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:23,480 Speaker 1: aliens that look at this landscape and go, if this 945 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:26,400 Speaker 1: had a weak force, it would be much cooler. That's right, 946 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,560 Speaker 1: it's too weak right now. It's a weak sauce. We 947 00:49:29,560 --> 00:49:31,719 Speaker 1: should have called the weak force the spicy force to 948 00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:33,880 Speaker 1: give it some pride, you know. Yeah, there you go, 949 00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:35,879 Speaker 1: because it's not sort of not weak, right, it's it's 950 00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:39,320 Speaker 1: it's sort of strong, and it's a mathematical complexity. Yeah, 951 00:49:39,360 --> 00:49:41,719 Speaker 1: it's doing a lot. Man. Yeah, maybe weak is a 952 00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:45,640 Speaker 1: new strong, and I just spin is a new plus 953 00:49:45,719 --> 00:49:48,160 Speaker 1: or minus. I don't know anyways, Thanks for joining us, 954 00:49:48,680 --> 00:49:58,680 Speaker 1: See you next time. Thanks for listening, and remember that 955 00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:01,440 Speaker 1: Daniel and Jorge expl in the Universe is a production 956 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:05,040 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio or more podcast from my heart Radio. 957 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:08,760 Speaker 1: Visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 958 00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:12,480 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah,