Chien Shuing Wu
“Nobody really goes out looking for secrets of nature, but then maybe something small might turn out to be something very big and important.” -Chien Shuing Wu-
I chose to do my report on Chien Shuing Wu, because I had no clue what she did and eve how to pronounce her name. I wanted to learn things about what she did and what she is most famous for.
Facts in Brief:
Born: May 31, 1912
Date of Death: 1997 at the age of 84
Place of Birth: Shanghai, China, in 1912.
Parents: Wu Zhongyi father
Education: She received her Bachelor of Science degree in China in 1934 and came to the United States in 1936. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California in 1940, she taught at Smith College and at Princeton University before going to Columbia University in 1944.
Chein Shuing Wu was born in the town of Liuho, China. She graduated in 1936 and then traveled to the United States to pursue graduate studies in physics at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1940 was awarded a PH.D. She taught at Smith College and at Princeton University before joining the staff of the Division of War Research at Colombia University in March 1944. There her work concerned radiation detection.
In 1956, Wu learned about the theory of two other scientists, Tsumg Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yeng. Lee and Yeng had a doubt about a central rule of physics--the law of parity. This law held that in nature all processes are symmetrical. Lee and Yeng suspected that inside atoms, the law of parity did not always hold to be true. Wu came up with the perfect experiment. She placed a substance called Cobalt 60 in a chamber and cooled it to more than 400 degrees below zero. In Wu’s experiment,she and her coworkers recorded the direction each of the released electrons was spinning. Such particles are either called “left handed” or “right handed” depending on the way they are locating. If the law of parity was correct, Wu would record an equal number of left and right handed electrons.
I think that she showed that she can solve things with her knowledge and her experiments. I had a great time learning about her.
Bibliography:
Electric Library-McHenry, Robert (ed.), Wu, Chien-Shiung (biography). , Her Heritage: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Famous American Women, 12-20-1995.
North American Biographies: Groiler Educational Cooperation, page 213-215
Summary of Chien Shuing Wu’s life:
http://www.engr.psu.edu/wep/engcompsp98/clee/index3.html
Chien Shuing Wu website:
http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/dms/projects/women/mwu.htm
Return to the Famous Women in History Projects Page.
By: Michelle M.