This discovery is perhaps her most important scientific contribution. Thus, she deduced that radioactivity does not depend on how atoms are arranged into molecules, but rather that it originates within the atoms themselves. Within days she discovered that thorium also emitted radiation, and further, that the amount of radiation depended upon the amount of element present in the compound. While she tried to return to work in Poland in 1894, she was denied a place at Krakow University because of her gender and returned to Paris to pursue her Ph.D.Īdopting the study of Henri Becquerel‘s discovery of radiation in uranium as her thesis topic, Curie began the systematic study of other elements to see if there were others that also emitted this strange energy. In Paris, she also met her husband Pierre Curie. The beginning of her scientific career was an investigation of the magnetic properties of various steels. University education for women was not available in Russia at the time, so Curie left to pursue her degrees at the University of Paris in 1891. Curie never worked on the Manhattan Project, but her contributions to the study of radium and radiation were instrumental to the future development of the atomic bomb.Ĭurie was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867, which was then part of the Russian Empire. Curie was a pioneer in researching radioactivity, winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911. This, according to the Journal of British Society for the History of Radiology, was likely because Curie had taken steps to limit exposure to radiation in later life.Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist. Later examination of Curie’s body revealed that she had remained remarkably well preserved and only small levels of alpha and beta contamination were detected. At first, Marie Curie’s coffin appeared to be made of wood, but when opened, they found it was lined with 2.5 millimeters (0.09 inches) of lead. When the exhumers approached their grave, they detected normal levels of radiation on the air, which then rose as the grave was opened (though not by large amounts). The officials responsible for the exhumation contacted the French radiation protection agency with concerns about residual radiation and asked for assistance to protect workers in the cemetery. How Did People Make Maps Before Satellites Were Invented?Īt the time, the French authorities wanted to move the Curies to the national mausoleum, the Panthéon, in honor of their contributions to science and for being icons in French history. However, no one knew this until 1995 when her coffin was exhumed. When Curie died, her body was so radioactive that she had to be laid to rest in a lead-lined coffin. Despite its name, aplastic anemia is more than just anemia it is a rare blood condition that appears when bone marrow cannot make enough new blood cells for your body to function properly. Marie Curie died on July 4, 1934, from aplastic anemia caused by her work with radiation. But despite advocating precautions, Curie’s consistent and prolonged exposure to these substances came at a cost. In fact, if it were not for Curie’s work, our treatments for cancer would likely not be anywhere near as developed as they are today. She would go on to devote her research to the study of the chemistry of radioactive substances as well as their applications in medicine. Then, in 1911, after much personal tragedy (Pierre Curie had died suddenly 1906), Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for isolating pure radium. These results led to the Curies being awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. She and her husband, Pierre Curie, set to work and ended up discovering radium and polonium, two new radioactive elements, in 1898. This discovery inspired Curie to explore Becquerel’s findings as part of her research thesis. In 1896, the French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium salts emitted rays that were similar to X-rays in their ability to pass through objects.
But while her research into the radioactive elements polonium and radium may have secured her a lasting scientific legacy, those same substances have also had a lasting effect on her body.Ĭurie was not only the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, but also the only woman to be awarded prizes in two different fields. Marie Curie is remembered today for her pioneering work on radioactivity, which not only earned her two Nobel Prizes but also the recognition as the “mother of modern physics”.
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