The First-Lady of Physics – Chien-Shiung Wu

Scientists are enabling us to save lives and hopefully prevent disaster in this COVID-19 pandemic — and coming up with big solutions to health problems is one of the main reasons their profession is so valuable. But for me there is another equally praiseworthy aspect: their contributions to unveiling the forces that shape our universe. And so, in this light, might I introduce Chien-Shiung Wu, a.k.a. “the First Lady of Physics”. Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997) was born in China, and received encouragement and educational opportunities from her father. Her aptitude for physics was so robust that she decided to emigrate to the United States where she was able to work on her doctoral research involving the decay of radioactive particles. She assisted in the creation of the first atomic bomb, a role which eventually she had conflicting feelings about, and later she advised Taiwanese officials to avoid developing nuclear weapons.

Wu’s most famous contribution to our understanding of the world came with her work on radioactive particle disparity. As the website “Columbia 250” states (Chien-Shiung eventually did much of her research as a professor at Columbia University), “in the case of radioactive decay . . . Nature knows left from right.” In terms of decaying atomic particles in the so-called “weak force”, the typical patterns of symmetry did not apply. The “Wu experiment” — which she devised — eventually proved this point.

One of Chien-Shiung’s quotes captures the appreciation for science’s capacity to reveal the mechanisms of the natural world. “These were moments of exhilaration and ecstasy! A glimpse of this wonder can be the reward of a lifetime. Could it be that excitement and ennobling feelings like these have kept us scientists marching forward forever?”