Chien-Shiung Wu: The Experiment That Broke Symmetry
100 Lives That Shaped the World · Episode 40
- Historical Biographies
- 42 min
- Ages 12–99
- 10 chapters
About this audiobook
A biography of Chien-Shiung Wu from education in Republican China and migration to the United States through beta-decay mastery, Manhattan Project work, the parity experiment, and advocacy for women in science.
Why it's worth a listen
It makes difficult physics intelligible while confronting war, migration, racism, sexism, experimental credit, and the Nobel recognition given to theory over decisive experimental work.
A question to keep
How did Wu's experimental precision overturn a supposed law of nature, and why did recognition still follow unequal lines?
Chapters
- A Law of Nature Fails in the Cold
- A School for Girls in Liuhe
- Nanjing, War, and Departure
- Berkeley and Experimental Reputation
- The Manhattan Project
- Columbia and the Authority of Precision
- Lee and Yang Ask a Forbidden Question
- Designing the Wu Experiment
- The Nobel and the Credit System
- Physics After Parity