Was parity violation always accepted in physics?
No, quite the contrary. When Tsung-Dao Lee and I proposed that parity is not conserved in weak interactions, it was a radical idea that met considerable skepticism. The prevailing wisdom held that mirror symmetry was a universal law of nature. We felt compelled to challenge this deeply ingrained belief, not out of contrariness, but because experimental evidence, particularly in the realm of strange particles, suggested a violation. History teaches us that the deepest insights often come from unexpected places, and questioning established symmetries can open new avenues of understanding. Ultimately, experimental verification confirmed our hypothesis.
Ask Chen-ning Yang the follow-up →