The article Reversal of Parity Law in Nuclear Physics published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology indicates:
“ | In late 1956, experiments at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now NIST) demonstrated that the quantum mechanical law of conservation of parity does not hold in the beta decay of cobalt-60 nuclei. This result, together with experiments on parity conservation in µ-meson decay at Columbia University, shattered a fundamental concept of nuclear physics that had been universally accepted for the previous 30 years. It thus cleared the way for a reconsideration of physical theories and led to new, far-reaching discoveries regarding the nature of matter and the universe.
In particular, removal of the restrictions imposed by parity conservation brought order to the theoretical chaos that existed with regard to subatomic particles. The "elementary" particles seen in cosmic rays and particle accelerator experiments were understood to be manifestations of the strong and weak nuclear interactions. The better understanding of their characteristics has led to a more unified theory of the fundamental forces.[1] |
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Categories: [Physics]