Chien-Shiung Wu

Experimental physicist whose cobalt-60 experiment proved that the weak force violates parity.

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1912 – 1997

Core Principles & Analysis

• Her 1956-57 experiment on cobalt-60 beta decay showed that nature distinguishes left from right.
• Lee and Yang, who proposed the parity test, won the 1957 Nobel Prize; Wu's experiment supplied the proof.
• Known as the 'First Lady of Physics', she led precision beta-decay experimentation at Columbia for decades.