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The Cobalt 60 experiment
In 1956, following a theoretical prediction of
Lee and Yang, a young women,
Mrs Wu, impulsed with
misters Ambler, Hayward, Hoppes and Hudson
(Phys. Rev. 105, 1413 (1957))
show that electrons from beta decay of Cobalt 60 nuclei refrigerated by adiabatic
demagnetization and whose spins were oriented in a magnetic field, are not
symmetrically ejected over and under the plane perpendicular to the cobalt nuclei spins.
There are more electrons going into the direction opposite to the cobalt nuclei spins.
The conclusion was the following:
the space symmetry, an operation called P, is violated by the beta decays, that means
by weak interaction.
The mirror image of a beta decay is not a beta decay.
It is the same for the neutrino. The left helicity neutrinos can interact with matter
but right helicity neutrinos cannot.
This experiment showed also that the particle / anti-particle symmetry
(the C symmetry) was also violated by weak interactions.
Eight years later, J. Cronin and his team show that the product CP is also
violated by weak interactions.
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Last update: 26/06/1999: http://wwwlapp.in2p3.fr/neutrinos/acobalt60.html
Didier Verkindt
