January, 2015 - Chien-Shiung Wu - Infamous Wisdom

Chien-Shiung Wu

Born in Liu Ho, China, in 1912, Chien-Shiung Wu overturned a law of physics and participated in the development of the atom bomb.

Wu was recruited to Columbia University in the 1940s as part oft he Manhattan Project and conducted research on radiation detection and uranium enrichment.  She stayed in the United States after the war and in the mid-1950s, two theoretical physicists, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang, approached Wu to help disprove the law of parity.  The law holds that in quantum mechanics, two physical systems - like atoms - that were mirror images would behave in identical ways.

Wu's experiments using cobalt-60, a radioactive form of the cobalt metal, upended this law, which had been accepted for 30 years.  This milestone in physics led to a 1957 Nobel Prize for Yang and Lee - but not for Wu, who was left out despite her critical role.

The Drink

Infamous Wisdom

1 1/2 oz ginger liqueur
1 oz bourbon
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
brandied cherry, for garnish

Drinkability:  2
Drunkability:  4
Taxic Diversity:  2
Accessibility:  3
Priority for Conservation:  4

Comments:  ginger gives it some heat

From "Forgotten Women" hosted by CZ.