astronomy

Liao Shantao

Liao Shantao is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Liao Shantao rather than just read about it. In short: Liao Shantao (simplified Chinese: 廖山涛; traditional Chinese: 廖山濤; pinyin: Liào Shāntāo; 4 January 1920 - 6 June 1997) was a Chinese mathematician. Biography Liao was born on January 4, 1920, to a family of farmers in Hengshan County, Hunan.

Key takeaways

Liao Shantao belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Liao Shantao to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Liao Shantao from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Liao Shantao (simplified Chinese: 廖山涛; traditional Chinese: 廖山濤; pinyin: Liào Shāntāo; 4 January 1920 - 6 June 1997) was a Chinese mathematician.

Biography Liao was born on January 4, 1920, to a family of farmers in Hengshan County, Hunan. His father was Liao Zihao (Chinese: 廖子豪) and his mother was Zeng Ping (Chinese: 曾平). He attended Mingde Middle School and Changsha No. 1 High School in Changsha, capital of Hunan province. In 1938 he was accepted to National Southwestern Associated University and graduated in 1941. After graduation, he taught at Mingde Middle School. He moved to Peking University in 1946 as an associate professor and then to Academia Sinica as a research assistant in 1948. He pursued advanced studies in the United States, earning his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1952. His doctoral dissertation was directed by Shiing-Shen Chern. He did post-doctoral research at Princeton University from 1953 to 1955. Liao gave up the job that mathematician Norman Steenrod had arranged for him in scientific research at Princeton University and returned to China in 1956 as a professor at Peking University. In 1986 he was elected a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences. In 1991 he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Personal life Liao married Wang Hongyi (Chinese: 汪鸿仪) in 1942, the couple had three sons.

Awards 1982 Second Class Prize of State Natural Science Award 1988 First Class Prize of State Natural Science Award

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Liao Shantao

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Liao Shantao claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Liao Shantao before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Liao Shantao ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Liao Shantao

In research: Liao Shantao appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Liao Shantao in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Liao Shantao is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1920 births, 1997 deaths, Academic staff of Peking University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Liao Shantao outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Liao Shantao in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Liao Shantao means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Liao Shantao out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Liao Shantao in simple terms?

Liao Shantao (simplified Chinese: 廖山涛; traditional Chinese: 廖山濤; pinyin: Liào Shāntāo; 4 January 1920 - 6 June 1997) was a Chinese mathematician. Biography Liao was born on January 4, 1920, to a family of farmers in Hengshan County, Hunan.

Why does Liao Shantao matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Liao Shantao?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Liao Shantao.