Historical Figure
Chen-Ning Yang
b. 1922
Chinese-American physicist (1922–2025)
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Biography
Yang Chen-Ning also known as C.N. Yang and Franklin Yang, was a Chinese-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to statistical mechanics, integrable systems, gauge theory, particle physics and condensed matter physics.
Timeline
The story of Chen-Ning Yang, told in moments.
Arrived at the University of Chicago on a Tsinghua University scholarship. Studied under Enrico Fermi and Edward Teller.
Developed Yang-Mills theory with Robert Mills, describing how subatomic particles interact through forces. The paper was initially ignored. It later became a foundation of the Standard Model of physics.
Won the Nobel Prize in Physics with Tsung-Dao Lee for proving that parity is not conserved in weak nuclear interactions. The prediction was confirmed experimentally by Chien-Shiung Wu.
Died at 103. He was the longest-lived Nobel laureate in physics at the time of his death.
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