Born on November 7th, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, Marie Sklodowska was the youngest of the family. As a child, she was greatly interested in math and physics, so after working as a governess for four years, she finally saved enough fund to go to Paris. In 1891, she enrolled in the Sorbonne University of Paris, unlike Warsaw universities, Sorbonne University admitted female students. With the scholarship from top grades in math and physics, Marie still experienced many financial difficulties. In 1895, Marie married Pierre Curie, and in 1897, their first child, Irène Curie was born. After the discovery and purification of Polonium and Radium, the couple, along with Henri Becquerel received a Noble Prize for Physics on their discovery of Radium. After the death of Pierre, Marie became the Head of Physics Department at the Sorbonne. Shortly after that, Marie won a second Nobel Prize on her work of purifying radium. She later established Radium Institute of Paris, a special place for the study of radium and its effects on human. On July 6th, 1934, Marie died of leukemia caused by overexposure of radiation, but her legacy still lives today.
Pierre Curie
Pierre Curie was born in 1859 in Paris, France. He too, was deeply interested in math and physics as a child. In spite of his interests, he became a laboratory assistant in Sorbonne University. With his brother Jacques Curie, Pierre discovered piezoelectricity and the Curie point, they also invented the Curie Electrometer, a device used to determine whether a substance gives off radiation or not. After marriage with Marie, Pierre gave up his study on heat, magnetism and electricity in order to become Marie’s assistant. He helped her with the discovery and purification of both Polonium and Radium. Pierre later became the supervisor at the School of Physics, but tragedy struck on April 19th, 1906. On that unfortunate day, Pierre was crushed and killed by a horse- drawn cart on a rainy day in Paris. However, Pierre Curie was an intelligent and devoted scientist, and his contributions in studies of radioactivity were admirable and profound.
Discovery Of Radium And Polonium After the discovery of X- ray by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 and the discovery of radiation from Uranium by French Physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, Marie and Pierre Curie became immensely interested in this mystical ray found by Becquerel and was determined to find out more about it.
The couple started their experiments in a simple and crude room behind the School of Physics. In their tiny lab, Marie and Pierre found that radiation is emitted from Uranium and Thorium by using the Curie Electrometer. After many experiments, Marie found out that emission from Uranium and Thorium couldn’t be caused by chemical reaction, because if it were, the emissions would change if uranium was added or deducted from certain chemicals. So Marie hypothesized that the emissions came from the atoms of uranium. The couple later determined that substances like pitchblende ore and chalcolite emitted more radiation than the uranium they contained. This meant that there must be another substance in pitchblende and chalcolite that emitted the extra radiation.
Through chemical procedures, Marie, with the help of Pierre and other colleagues, finally purified pitchblende ores and found a new substance that she named Polonium (after Poland). This new substance was much more radioactive compared to Uranium. But Marie’s work was not done; she knew that Polonium was not the only element that gave off the extra emissions. She began purifying pitchblende again in 1899, and after 4 years of hard work, Pierre and Marie finally obtained a tiny pure sample of Radium (named after Latin word “radius” or ray) weighed at 0.1 gram out of 7 tons of pitchblende.
Conclusion:
The discovery of radium was important, but what’s more important was when Marie discovered that radiation did not come from chemical reactions, but from within the atom itself. Based on what Marie Curie discovered back then, other scientist and manufacturer are applying her discoveries into their own inventions. Things like radiotherapy that treats cancer, nuclear reactors that generate electricity, and lasers and radioisotopes used in industries all came about because of Marie and Pierre’s discoveries. The interesting concepts surrounding nuclear power also came about because of Curie’s work. Through Marie and Pierre Curie’s experiments, we also learned about the dangers of radiation, for example, it causes fatigue, illness, burns, and certain types of cancer.
Mini Biography
Marie Curie
Pierre Curie
Pierre Curie was born in 1859 in Paris, France. He too, was deeply interested in math and physics as a child. In spite of his interests, he became a laboratory assistant in Sorbonne University. With his brother Jacques Curie, Pierre discovered piezoelectricity and the Curie point, they also invented the Curie Electrometer, a device used to determine whether a substance gives off radiation or not. After marriage with Marie, Pierre gave up his study on heat, magnetism and electricity in order to become Marie’s assistant. He helped her with the discovery and purification of both Polonium and Radium. Pierre later became the supervisor at the School of Physics, but tragedy struck on April 19th, 1906. On that unfortunate day, Pierre was crushed and killed by a horse- drawn cart on a rainy day in Paris. However, Pierre Curie was an intelligent and devoted scientist, and his contributions in studies of radioactivity were admirable and profound.Discovery Of Radium And Polonium
After the discovery of X- ray by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 and the discovery of radiation from Uranium by French Physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, Marie and Pierre Curie became immensely interested in this mystical ray found by Becquerel and was determined to find out more about it.
The couple started their experiments in a simple and crude room behind the School of Physics. In their tiny lab, Marie and Pierre found that radiation is emitted from Uranium and Thorium by using the Curie Electrometer. After many experiments, Marie found out that emission from Uranium and Thorium couldn’t be caused by chemical reaction, because if it were, the emissions would change if uranium was added or deducted from certain chemicals. So Marie hypothesized that the emissions came from the atoms of uranium. The couple later determined that substances like pitchblende ore and chalcolite emitted more radiation than the uranium they contained. This meant that there must be another substance in pitchblende and chalcolite that emitted the extra radiation.
Through chemical procedures, Marie, with the help of Pierre and other colleagues, finally purified pitchblende ores and found a new substance that she named Polonium (after Poland). This new substance was much more radioactive compared to Uranium. But Marie’s work was not done; she knew that Polonium was not the only element that gave off the extra emissions. She began purifying pitchblende again in 1899, and after 4 years of hard work, Pierre and Marie finally obtained a tiny pure sample of Radium (named after Latin word “radius” or ray) weighed at 0.1 gram out of 7 tons of pitchblende.
Conclusion:
The discovery of radium was important, but what’s more important was when Marie discovered that radiation did not come from chemical reactions, but from within the atom itself. Based on what Marie Curie discovered back then, other scientist and manufacturer are applying her discoveries into their own inventions. Things like radiotherapy that treats cancer, nuclear reactors that generate electricity, and lasers and radioisotopes used in industries all came about because of Marie and Pierre’s discoveries. The interesting concepts surrounding nuclear power also came about because of Curie’s work. Through Marie and Pierre Curie’s experiments, we also learned about the dangers of radiation, for example, it causes fatigue, illness, burns, and certain types of cancer.
Bibliography
Birch, Beverley. Marie Curie. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens, 1998.
Conner, Edwina. Marie Curie. New York: Wayland Limited, 1987.
Parker, Steve. Marie Curie and Radium. New York: Chelsea House, 1995.
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