Chien-Shiung Wu
The famed Chinese-American experimental physicist was Stan Ruby’s graduate school thesis advisor. Her role in the Rustad-Ruby affair is a focus of this research.
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1945 | Columbia University Library | C.S. (Chien-Shiung) Wu Papers, 1945-1994 bulk 1960-1979 | |||
March 1, 1946 | C. S. Wu, L. J. Rainwater, and W. W. Havens, Jr. | Neutron Scattering in Ortho- and Parahydrogen and the Range of Nuclear Forces | Unclassified paper by Wu, Rainwater and Havens from their Manhattan Project work. |
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October 1, 1948 | Physical Review | R. D. Albert and C. S. Wu | The Beta-Spectrum of S35 | Representative of many beta spectrum studies Wu did with collaborators throughout this period |
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January 15, 1949 | Physical Review | C. S. Wu and R. D. Albert | The Beta-Ray Spectra of Cu64 | Thin source obtained with soap bubble process obtains result expected by Fermi theory, clearing away earlier experimental confusion caused by thick sources. |
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January 1, 1950 | Physical Review | P. Macklin, L. Feldman, L. Lidofsky, and C. S. Wu | The Beta-Spectrum of Ca45 | ||
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October 1950 | Reviews of Modern Physics | Chien-Shiung Wu | Recent Investigation of the Shapes of Beta-Ray Spectra | Invited paper at APS New York 1950 summarized Wu's beta-decay experimental work. |
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September 15, 1952 | Physical Review | C. S. Wu, B. M. Rustad, V. Perez-Mendez, and L. Lidofsky | The Beta-Spectrum of He6 | Used Columbia spectrometer to calculate revised comparative lifetime of He6 |
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December 1, 1952 | Physica | C. S. Wu | BETA DISINTEGRATION, ALLOWED AND FORBIDDEN DECAY | Wu overiew of the coupling constant problem. Covers recalculation of He6 endpoint. Cites prepublication R-R work via private communication. |
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September 15, 1956 | Physical Review | A. Schwarzschild, B. M. Rustad, and C. S. Wu | Decay of A41 | Note the three authors . Rustad remained in the fold before and after the reversal of the Rustad-Ruby experiment. Schwarzchild would later collaborate with Wu on the Critical Examination report. |
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February 15, 1957 | Physical Review | C. S. Wu, E. Ambler, R. W. Hayward, D. D. Hoppes, and R. P. Hudson | Experimental Test of Parity Conservation in Beta Decay | Wu’s famous experiment that confirmed the Lee-Yang suggestion that left-right symmetry is not conserved in weak interactions. Another concurrently published experiment by Garwin and Lederman confirmed the theory in meson decays. |
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June 15, 1957 | Physical Review | E. AMBLER, R. W. HAYWARD, D. D. HOPPE, R. P. HUDSON, AND C. S. WU | Further Experiments on β Decay of Polarized Nuclei | These results were reported at the New York Meeting of the American Physical Society of February 2, 1957 (C. S. Wu, post-deadline paper). Positive R-R citation |
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April 21, 1958 | Unpublished | C. S. Wu and A. Schwarzschild | A Critical Examination of the He6 Recoil Experiment of Rustad and Ruby | Wu repudiates Rustad-Ruby experiment in unpublished CU-173 Columbia University report. Franklin says letter from Wu to Cavanaugh suggests reexamination was done in November. |
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July 1, 1959 | Reviews of Modern Physics | C. S. Wu | Parity Experiments in Beta Decays | Wu evaluates the history of “classical” (pre-parity) beta-decay experiments in this 1959 review. |
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1960 | C. S. Wu | The Neutrino | Chapter in Wolfgang Pauli memorial volume edited by Fierz and Weisskopf shows Wu's summary of recoil experiment history in 1960, citing her CU-172 report. |
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1960 | M. Fierz and V. F. Weisskopf, editors | Theoretical Physics in the Twentieth Century. A Memorial Volume to Wolfgang Pauli | Wu's chapter "The Neutrino," summarizing the history of classical recoil experiments, is cited here. |
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April 1, 1964 | Reviews of Modern Physics | C. S. Wu | The Universal Fermi Interaction and the Conserved Vector Current in Beta Decay | ||
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April 1, 1976 | Physics Today | C. S. Wu | The state of US physics—1976 | Wu was President of the American Physical Society in 1975-76. This is her state of the profession. |
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1996 | Monographs and Texts in Physics and Astronomy | C.S. Wu and S.A. Moszkowski | Beta Decay | Wu's readable textbook about Beta Decay includes a historical review, including a more distant review of the He6 events |
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