The Weak Nuclear Force

The weak force is unique in various ways. For example, the weak force is the only force where particles can change into other particles, known as flavor changing. Particles decay via this flavor changing. For example, a top quark can emit a W boson (a gauge boson for the weak force), and change into a bottom quark.

Flavor change only happens when the weak force is involved and a W boson is emitted.

Here are some facts about the weak force.

The weak force has three gauge bosons. W bosons interact with the electromagnetic force, so there is one for each charge. In total, there is the W+, W-, and Z Bosons.
The weak force only works on left-chiral particles, making it the only force that cares about spin.
While gauge bosons typically do not have mass, the W boson does. In fact, the W boson is abnormally massive, almost 80 more massive than the proton. This makes the weak force have a very small range.
The weak force obeys SU(2) symmetry

Here is what the Feynman diagram for positive beta decay looks like. Beta decay is one process in which a nucleus can decay.

This diagram is an example used in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKVpknSKgE0&t=55s

As you can see, the neutron has a positive charge. Therefore, the W boson must have a negative charge. Also, due to the short range of the weak force, the W boson quickly decays into an electron and neutrino.

The Z boson has zero charge, so when it is emitted a new particle would have the same charge as before. As we have seen, the up, charm, and top quarks have a +2/3 charge, the down, strange, and bottom quarks have a -1/3 charge, and leptons have a -1 charge, so it seems like Z bosons could flavor change particles within those sets.

This would be known as a Flavor Changing Neutral Current (FCNC). However, this has not been seen so far.