Chien-Shiung Wu Tests the Rule
Written by Studio AM.
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Chien-Shiung Wu was born in China in 1912. She became an experimental physicist and later worked in the United States. Colleagues respected her skill with difficult measurements.
In the 1950s, physicists wondered whether a rule called parity always held. The rule suggested that some events should behave like their mirror images. Two theorists proposed that weak nuclear interactions might break it. They asked Wu to design a test.
Wu's team cooled radioactive cobalt to an extremely low temperature and aligned its nuclei in a magnetic field. The particles emitted by the cobalt did not leave equally in mirrored directions. The result showed that parity was not conserved in this interaction.
The experiment changed physics. The theorists received a Nobel Prize, while Wu did not share it. Her work remains a clear example of how experimental design can decide between ideas. A bold proposal needed an instrument, controlled conditions, and a team able to measure the predicted effect.
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Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the biography?
The answer is B: Chien-Shiung Wu designed a precise cobalt experiment that showed a supposed symmetry rule failed in weak interactions.
The passage centers Wu’s experimental skill, method, decisive result, and significance.
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Question 2 of 4
Why did Wu’s team cool the cobalt and align its nuclei?
The answer is C: They needed controlled conditions that made the two directions meaningfully testable.
The apparatus organized the nuclei so an uneven directional pattern could test parity.
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Question 3 of 4
What does “conserved” mean here?
The answer is D: kept unchanged or obeyed in the interaction
The result showed that the proposed symmetry rule did not remain valid.
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Question 4 of 4
What material did Wu’s team study?
The answer is A: radioactive cobalt
The third paragraph identifies radioactive cobalt as the experimental material.
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