W bosons are fundamental particles that mediate the weak nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces in nature. They come in two types: W+ and W-, which carry positive and negative electric charge, respectively. These particles are crucial for processes like beta decay, where a neutron transforms into a proton, emitting a W boson in the process. Discovered in the early 1980s at the Super Proton Synchrotron in CERN, W bosons have a relatively short lifespan and quickly decay into other particles. Their mass is about 80 times that of a proton, making them one of the heaviest elementary particles known.