Yang Chen-Ning facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yang Chen-Ning
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| 楊振寧 | |||||||||||
Yang in 1957
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| Born |
Yang Chen-Ning (楊振寧)
1 October 1922 |
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| Citizenship | China | ||||||||||
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| Known for |
List
Yang–Baxter equation
Yang-Baxter operator Yang–Mills theory Byers-Yang theorem Landau–Yang theorem Lee–Yang theorem Lee–Yang theory Wu–Yang dictionary Wu–Yang monopole Fermi–Yang model Off-diagonal long-range order G-parity Parity violation |
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| Children | 3 | ||||||||||
| Awards |
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Nobel Prize in Physics (1957)
Guggenheim Fellowship (1962) Fritz London Memorial Lecture (1966) Rumford Prize (1980) National Medal of Science (1986) Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture (1988) ForMemRS (1992) Benjamin Franklin Medal (1993) Bower Award (1994) Albert Einstein Medal (1995) Bogolyubov Prize (1996) Lars Onsager Prize (1999) King Faisal Prize (2001) |
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| Doctoral advisor | Edward Teller | ||||||||||
| Other academic advisors | Enrico Fermi | ||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 杨振宁 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 楊振寧 | ||||||||||
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Yang Chen-Ning (born 1 October 1922), also known as C. N. Yang, is a famous Chinese theoretical physicist. He has made huge contributions to how we understand tiny particles and how matter behaves.
In 1957, he and Tsung-Dao Lee won the Nobel Prize in Physics. They discovered that a basic rule of physics, called parity conservation, is sometimes broken. This happens in certain nuclear reactions, like when particles called beta or alpha particles are released. Yang is also well known for creating the Yang–Mills theory with Robert Mills. This theory helps explain how subatomic particles interact.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Yang Chen-Ning was born in Hefei, Anhui, China. His father, Ko-Chuen Yang, was a mathematician. His mother, Meng Hwa Loh Yang, was a housewife.
Yang went to school in Beijing. In 1937, his family moved to Hefei because of the war. A year later, they moved to Kunming, where the National Southwestern Associated University was located. Yang joined the university as a second-year student.
He earned his first degree in 1942. His project was about using group theory to study how molecules produce light. He then studied for two more years, focusing on statistical mechanics. This field uses math to understand how large groups of particles behave.
In 1944, he received his Master of Science degree from Tsinghua University. Yang then got a special scholarship from the United States. This scholarship was funded by money China had to pay after the Boxer Rebellion. He taught for a year before going to the United States.
In January 1946, Yang started studying at the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD in 1948.
Amazing Discoveries and Career
After getting his PhD, Yang worked at the University of Chicago for a year. In 1949, he was invited to do research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. There, he started working closely with Tsung-Dao Lee. He became a full professor at the Institute in 1955.
In 1965, he moved to Stony Brook University. He became the Albert Einstein Professor of Physics there. He also became the first director of the new Institute for Theoretical Physics. Today, this institute is named the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics in his honor.
Yang retired from Stony Brook University in 1999. In 2010, a new building at the university was named C. N. Yang Hall to celebrate his work.
Yang has been chosen as a member of many important science groups around the world. These include the American Physical Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has also received honorary degrees from top universities like Princeton University.
In 1971, Yang visited mainland China for the first time in many years. He helped the Chinese physics community rebuild after a difficult period. After retiring from Stony Brook, he became an honorary director at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He also works as a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Yang was the first president of the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS). This group was started in 1989. In 1997, the AAPPS created the C.N. Yang Award to recognize young researchers.
Key Scientific Achievements
Yang has focused his work on several areas of physics. These include statistical mechanics, condensed matter theory (how solids and liquids behave), particle physics, and gauge theory.
At the University of Chicago, Yang first tried working in an accelerator lab. But he found he was better at theoretical physics. His PhD project was about how particles scatter in nuclear reactions.
Yang–Mills Theory
Yang is famous for his work with Robert Mills in 1953. They developed the Yang–Mills theory. This theory is a key part of how we understand the forces between tiny subatomic particles. It has changed modern physics and mathematics.
Robert Mills said that Yang had the main idea for this theory. Mills helped with some of the math and how to apply it. The Yang-Mills theory is now a foundation for understanding how particles interact.
Parity Violation and the Nobel Prize
In 1956, Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee suggested something groundbreaking. They proposed that a rule called parity symmetry is not always conserved in weak interactions. Parity symmetry means that a physical process should look the same if you view it in a mirror.
A team led by Chien-Shiung Wu later proved their idea with an experiment. For this discovery, Yang and Lee received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. This finding caused a revolution in particle physics.
Other Important Work
Yang also worked on the theory of neutrinos with Tsung-Dao Lee. He studied how particles behave in different situations. In the 1970s, he explored the shape and properties of gauge theory. He worked with Wu Tai-Tsun to describe the Wu–Yang monopole.
Yang has always been interested in statistical mechanics. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked with Tsung-Dao Lee and Kerson Huang. They studied how large groups of particles behave. He also looked at phase transitions, like how water turns into ice. He helped explain the Lee–Yang circle theorem.
In 1967, he found an important equation for systems with many interacting particles. This equation is now called the Yang–Baxter equation. It is very important in physics and mathematics.
Awards and Honors
Yang Chen-Ning has received many awards for his scientific work:
- Nobel Prize in Physics (1957)
- Ten Outstanding Young Americans (1957)
- Rumford Prize (1980)
- National Medal of Science (1986)
- Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture and Medal (1988)
- Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences (1993)
- Bower Award (1994)
- Albert Einstein Medal (1995)
- Lars Onsager Prize (1999)
- King Faisal International Prize (2001)
- Marcel Grossmann Awards (2015)
In 2010, a residence hall and activity center at Stony Brook University was named C.N. Yang Hall in his honor.
Personal Life
Yang married Tu Chih-li, a teacher, in 1950. They had two sons and one daughter. Tu Chih-li passed away in 2003. In 2005, Yang married Weng Fan, a university student. They had met earlier in 1995. Yang has called Weng Fan his "final blessing from God."
Yang gave up his U.S. citizenship in 2015. On October 1, 2022, Yang Chen-Ning turned 100 years old.
Selected Publications
- Yang, C. N. (1983). [Yang Chen-Ning at Google Books Selected Papers, 1945–1980, with Commentary]. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman & Co.. ISBN 978-0-7167-1406-4. Yang Chen-Ning at Google Books.
- Yang, Chen-Ning (2005). [Yang Chen-Ning at Google Books Selected Papers, 1945–1980, with Commentary]. World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics. 36 (2005 ed.). Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 981-256-367-9. Yang Chen-Ning at Google Books.
- Yang, Chen-Ning (2013). [Yang Chen-Ning at Google Books Selected Papers of Chen Ning Yang II: With Commentaries]. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-4449-00-7. Yang Chen-Ning at Google Books.
Images for kids
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C.N. Yang Hall at Stony Brook University
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Yang (seated, left) with fellow Nobel Prize winners
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See also
In Spanish: Chen Ning Yang para niños
- Yang–Mills theory
- Yang–Baxter equation
- Parity violation
- Wu experiment
- Lee–Yang theorem
- C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
- List of Chinese Nobel laureates
