在过去的半个多世纪里,β衰变的研究对理解弱作用的本质起了主要的,甚至可以说是决定性的作用,本文将比较详细地介绍人们通过β衰变认识弱作用本质的过程:从费米提出β衰变理论,确定普适(V-A)费米相互作用,一直到弱作用和电磁作用的统一。 一、β衰变的费米理论及其实验验证 理论的提出 费米在参加索尔维会议以后,根据泡利的中微子假说提出了他的β衰变理论。他认为,与原子发光类似,β衰变也是一种跃迁过程。在此跃迁过程中,原子核内的一个中子转变为质 For more than half a century, the study of beta decay has played a major and perhaps decisive role in understanding the nature of weakness. This paper presents in more detail the process by which people recognize the nature of weakness through beta decay: Fermi proposed the beta decay theory to determine the universal Fermi interaction until the unification of weak and electromagnetic effects. I. The Fermi Theory of β-decay and the Theory of Experimental Validation Fermi proposed his theory of β-decay based on Pauling’s neutrino hypothesis after attending the Solvay conference. In his opinion, similar to atomic light, β decay is also a transition. During this transition, a neutron in the nucleus turns into a mass