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Public Affairs Television "Becoming American" Interview with Sam Ting

BILL MOYERS: I didn't realize that. You were the first recipient to accept it in Chinese?

SAM TING: Yeah. Before me, there's Professor Lee and Professor Yang. I wanted to give the speech in Chinese. I want to give a message to the Chinese students. That's why I decided give the speech in Chinese.

The United States ambassador to Sweden actually was not very pleased. That time, the relation with China was not perfect. So, the ambassador actually came to talk to me and said, "Well, you are American. Why do you give the speech in Chinese?" I said, "You know, I can speak whatever language I want." And the reason I give the speech in Chinese because I want to mention to the Chinese student in science that it's not only theoretical physics, theory that is important. To be able to do experiments, it's also very, very important. To be able to measure things, to measure experimental phenomenon, to study nature. It's very important.

BILL MOYERS: That's interesting to me. Is this because Chinese are more interested in theories and stop there, than in practical application?

SAM TING: There was a sentence in the Confucius teaching that said, "People who use their mind control people using their hand." In my little speech. I mentioned it. Look, you know, people use their mind.

Of course, it's very important. They're doing theoretical work. But to be able to use your hand together with your mind to do major experimental phenomena is equally important. The advancement of science is the interplay between theory and experiment.

BILL MOYERS: Then you went on to give the speech again in English?

SAM TING: Yes. Yes. Because at that time, China is a closed society. I had very much wanted to invite my aunt, who lived in China to come. And the Chinese government said no. And so, I said, "Well, if you say no, I'm going to tell your students how I feel about how the Chinese education is."

BILL MOYERS: And you did that.

SAM TING: Yes, I did that.

BILL MOYERS: But being a closed society, did China let the speech be published?

SAM TING: I do not know. I think many Chinese students know about that. They may not agree with me, but anyway, that's my opinion.

BILL MOYERS: They got a very good American lesson out of that. That it's not enough just to have an idea. You've got to do something with it, and carry it out.

SAM TING: Uh-huh (AFFIRMATIVE). So--

BILL MOYERS: You still draw on your Confucius philosophy?

SAM TING: Uh-uh (NEGATIVE). No. No.

BILL MOYERS: Except in that case.

SAM TING: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In that case, my main theme-- Confucius philosophy-- it's good. It's from 2,600 years ago. May or may not apply it in it's entirety today.

BILL MOYERS: Do you think science ultimately triumphs over philosophy?

SAM TING: This I do not know. Ten years from now, when I'm much older, I probably can answer this.

BILL MOYERS: (LAUGHTER) You won the Nobel Prize for discovering something called the J-particle. Can you tell me-- a layman what that is?

SAM TING: Okay. Before the J-particle, there were about hundreds of particles. All these hundreds of particles have common properties. Like, how long they live before they decay. It's just like people on Earth lives about 100 years. J-particle has a very unique property.

It's lifespan is about 10,000 times longer. And so, imagine-- after the discovery of J-particle, a family of similar particles were discovered. Imagine you suddenly-- in Culcous (PH), or in Tibet, you suddenly found a family that instead of living 100 years, lived 10,000 years. There must be something interesting.

BILL MOYERS: How did you imagine the existence of a J-particle when most scientists, or all scientists thought that we had identified all the particles?

SAM TING: That's exactly it. I did not think we had identified all the particles.

BILL MOYERS: How many people do you estimate around the world are involved in your experiment?

SAM TING: There are about a few hundred physicists. I do not know how to count the engineers, and technicians.

BILL MOYERS: Describe the scene for me in Geneva [where you have meetings every three months]. That's the heart of the experiment.

SAM TING: We have a meeting. The meeting lasts normally one week. And first, we invite people from NASA to explain the progress of the space station. And then, I give a report. To see what are the questions we have to ask. I give this report about what worries me.

And then, each university gives a report on what they are doing. Often they are disagreement. University A says it should be this way, University B says it should be another way-- and we have to resolve that.

BILL MOYERS: But you don't resolve it by a vote.

SAM TING: No, we never vote. We resolve it by extensive discussions. And then, if I have understood it, I will express my opinion to everyone. If people disagree, they can speak up. I particularly encourage young students to express their opinion.

And after that, if I still don't understand it, I will say, "Let's not decide now. Let's do some more tests." I find that eventually, I will make a decision.

BILL MOYERS: The buck stops with you--

SAM TING: Yes.

BILL MOYERS: Why do you ask young students? I mean, some of them are just in graduate school?

SAM TING: Yes, because in physics, age and experience may or may not be the most important thing. And also, you really have to respect a student-- listen to what he has to say.

BILL MOYERS: Is there a lot of excitement in Geneva when you're together over this experience?

SAM TING: Yes. People are very enthusiastic. And the governments in Europe, they are really strongly behind this experiment. The Italians, the Swiss, the Germans really support this thing.

BILL MOYERS: Well, there was a race in Europe when Columbus, and Magellan, and others were sailing the world to discover the New World.

SAM TING: Uh-huh (AFFIRMATIVE).

BILL MOYERS: Is that the equivalent for you scientists on this project to discover the missing half of the universe?

SAM TING: That is what we have in mind. What we really will discover, of course, we do not know. Yeah.

BILL MOYERS: Just as Columbus didn't know--

SAM TING: Yeah. No. If you don't do it, you don't know.

BILL MOYERS: Dr. Ting, thank you very much. I have really enjoyed this, and I've learned a lot from you.

SAM TING: Thank you. I'm also quite impressed by the way you ask questions.

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