Sat Oct 18 07:30:29 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the information, written from an Indian perspective and formatted for The Hindu:
Headline: Nobel Laureate Chen-ning Yang, Pioneer in Physics, Dies at 103
Beijing, October 18, 2025 (The Hindu) – Renowned Chinese physicist and Nobel Prize winner Chen-ning Yang passed away in Beijing on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at the age of 103. Yang’s death marks the end of an era for physics, particularly for China, where he is revered as a scientific icon.
Born in 1922 in Hefei, Anhui Province, Yang pursued his academic career in the United States in the 1940s. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for his groundbreaking work on parity nonconservation of weak interaction.
However, his most significant contribution to the field came in 1954, with the co-creation of the Yang-Mills theory alongside American physicist Robert Mills. This theory, widely considered as important as Einstein’s theory of relativity, provided the mathematical foundation for understanding the electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces at a subatomic level.
According to the South China Morning Post, the Yang-Mills theory is the basis for the Standard Model, the cornerstone of modern physics that unifies these forces and explains the behaviour of elementary particles.
“Yang was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the 20th century,” Ms. Shi Yu, professor of physics and associate director of the Wilczek Quantum Centre at the Shanghai Institute for Advanced Studies told the Post. She emphasized the importance of Yang-Mills theory, stating that the Standard Model would not exist without it.
Beyond his scientific achievements, Yang’s legacy in China is profound. He inspired generations of Chinese scientists and dispelled the notion that Chinese researchers were inferior to their Western counterparts. His work instilled a sense of confidence and ambition in the Chinese scientific community, paving the way for China’s current standing in scientific innovation.
Yang’s contributions extend beyond the realm of physics. He leaves behind a legacy of intellectual rigor and a powerful message of national pride, a sentiment that resonates deeply within China and holds relevance for India as it strives to become a global leader in science and technology.
First Piper 