By calling them “weakly interacting”, physicists mean that the particles experience another of the four fundamental forces, namely, the weak nuclear force that is responsible for radioactive decay.

之所以称其为“弱作用”，是为了指出粒子受到四大基本力中的另一种——由放射性衰变所产生的弱核力（四大基本力是：引力、电磁力、强力、弱力）。

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Only gravity and a phenomenon called the weak nuclear force, which governs some types of radioactive decay, can bind them—hence the term “weakly interacting”.

只有重力和一种可以支配某些放射性衰变的弱核力能够使其聚集凝固，“弱反应”这一术语由此得名。

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Compared with the other three forces in the universe (electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force and the strong nuclear force), gravity is relatively feeble, making gravitational waves hard to detect.

和宇宙中的其他三种力(电磁力、弱核力、强核力)相比，重力就微弱得多了，所以引力波很难被观测。

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Sterile neutrinos differ from ordinary neutrinos (electrically neutral particles produced in abundance by the nuclear reactions that power the sun) because ordinary neutrinos feel the weak nuclear force, while sterile ones do not.

ECONOMIST: Research from the beginning of time

The linchpin of the model is the underlying unity of two of the three forces: electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force.

ECONOMIST: Particle physics makes sense, but it assumes too much

Instead, they interact through its feebler cousin, the weak nuclear force.

ECONOMIST: Particle physics makes sense, but it assumes too much