Marie Curie’s Biography
Maria Sklodowska was Marie Curie’s birth name. She was born in a family of middle class. Both of her parents have been instructors at Warsaw during the Russian occupation. After being a participant of a certain revolutionary act when she was in her teenage years, Marie decided to pursue her studies at Cracow which is a part of Poland under the Austrian government. She finished her degrees in Sorbonne University Paris. Here is where she gained her mathematical sciences and physics license. It is during these years that she met Pierre Curie and married him. They had two daughters, Irene and Eva.
During also her stay in Paris, she changed her name from Maria to Marie. . Work and Early Research Marie Curie has been the Head of Physics Laboratory at the University in Sorbonne. She successfully completed her Doctorate in Science on 1903. On Pierre’s Death, she also succeeded his place as the Professor of General Physics. Her early research with her husband, Pierre focused on the chemical properties of radiation. Her curiosity and interest on radiation grew upon its discovery by Henri Becquerel. Marie Curie believes that radiation is something that could be efficiently used in able to cure and improve health.
Marie and Pierre’s research on radiation results to the discovery of two new elemental components which are polonium and radium. Marie Curie focuses her research on the separation of radium from other radioactive materials to be able to know its attribute and its possible benefits. Pierre Curie and their Discovery It is the hard work that Marie corroborated with her husband Pierre that the chemical element radium and polonium was known. Nonetheless, Marie was the one who have given the element a more expound research and attention. Pierre died as a result of studying the element polonium and radium.
The whole thing started from a hypothesis that revolves on the assumption of radiation as something that is emitted by an element or a substance which corresponds to a possibility of lesser weight due to the activity that took some energy. The process, Marie and Pierre Curie believes, was a product of the transformation or changes that atoms undergo. The couple decided then to look for some proof that could serve as evidence of their theory. Luckily, they succeeded. It through the observation of an radioactive matter that they have been able to locate radium and polonium.
During their observation, the couple found out that the matter losses weight as radiation occurs. Importance of Radium Henri Becquerel had discovered radiation as a property possessed or emitted by the element uranium. Nonetheless through a closer study and deeper research, both Marie and Pierre Currie found out that uranium was not the only substance known to emit radiation. They have actually realized that there are other materials in which radiation could be found. Such activity of matter was named by Marie Currie as something that possesses radioactivity.
Upon the discovery that other substances also emit radiation, Marie Curie have set fort into taking a closer look in the new found element radium. The importance of this element lies on its being a simple element. Having been able to separate radium provides a support to Marie Currie’s earlier hypothesis concerning the fact that radioactivity is something that could be use as a property of matter, as an atomic property. As this hypothesis was proven by the defining character of radium, it also opened the door into understanding that other elements might as well contain the property.
If this is the case, then it would be easier for the scientist or discoverers of Marie Curie’s time to locate other basic elements and prove their existence. With the growing acceptance of Marie Curie’s hypothesis and with the acknowledgement of the role of radiation, there were about 30 elements that were predicted to exist. The burden of proof lies on the process that such elements could be analyzed as an isolated chemical element since these elements are incapable of being distinguish with the use of chemical methods.
Through the experiments and the data that Marie Curie extracted and discovered in Radium, she has been able to positively assume the possibility of atomic transformation in elements since in able to create radium; there have been a formation of helium. Radium also up until today is viewed as the most efficient source of laboratory radiation. It makes the study of radiation much easier. Aside from that, the uses of radiation have also been explored more conveniently than before. Polonium? Marie continued her study to be able to prove that radium is in fact a new element.
She concentrated on creating pure radium and to determine its atomic weight. Now, many might be wondering why polonium did not obtained the same status and was not extensively studied as radium. The answer lies on the fact that while there are only minute amount of radium that were gathered in laboratories, it is said that only a fraction of this amount is what Marie and Pierre could create. With such very miniscule amount, it is quite impossible to determine much of its qualities, much more its possible uses. Later Life Marie Curie after the death of her husband, have continued their study.
She has been very well recognized and throughout her lifetime has received two Nobel Prizes. The first Nobel Prize was for the work she shared with Peter and Henri Becquerel which is concerned with the proof of the existence and importance of radiation. The second Nobel Prize was for the discovery of Radium and its property. Along with this was proving that radium is an atomic quality and that atoms undergo atomic transformations. Marie Curie devoted most of her adult life to her discovery. In line with this, Marie Curie tried to use her discovery with technology.
This could be reflected upon the innovations of X-ray mobiles that help locate and cure broken bones and other diseases during World War I. She promoted the use of radiation and also helped in the establishment of a Laboratory for radiation in Warsaw. She managed to do this from a gift granted by President Hoover in 1929 from the United States. Marie Curie was admired by the scientific world during her days up until today. She has been a member of Conseil du Physique Solvay and Committee of Intellectual Co-operation of the League of Nations.
Madame Marie Curie died on 1934 in Savoy France. She died due to old age since because of her exposure to radiation during her early life; her immune system somehow suffers that weaken her during old age. Importance of Marie Curie in Scientific Arena The importance of Marie Curie’s work lies on its utility in medicine and its application to the scientific community. To someone who is not much accustomed to the western innovations and studies, the discussion regarding the impacts of Marie curie’s work may struck as something weird and somehow nonsensical.
In able to avoid this kind of thinking, it would be better to look at how Marie Curie have been able to promote the advancement of medication and have influenced the role of radiation to a simple human life. As we all know, x-rays was now an ancient method to conduct examination regarding bone structures and other diseases inside the body. However during Marie Curie’s lifetime and the time before ultrasounds and ct scans have been invented, X-rays play a dominant role in medicine. X-rays help doctors distinguish what kind of operation is possible. It also tells the doctor which part of the bone was fractured and what the needed medication is.
X-rays are still used nowadays in airports and train stations to see what is inside the luggage. This is important to promote security and safety of the passengers and the country or society. The discovery of the property of radioactivity gives us warning about its possible dangers. For one, there are certain places with high amount of radiation that are considered as off-limits to ordinary people. There are protective gears that were being required to be used in factories which somehow produce amounts of radioactive materials. Even natural sources of radiation such as that which came from the sun also require protection.
Too much exposure to radiation has adverse effect to the body and with the fact that radiation is naturally occurring and could be found instantly almost everywhere. Precautions concerning radiation shall be implemented. However, it is of common knowledge that without the characterization and study made by Marie Curie during her time, information regarding radiation may not be as how we know it to do. There could be several delays in scientific progress, since there are about 30 elements that are discovered only upon the discovery of radioactivity. Works Cited
Nobelprize. org. Radium and the New Concepts in Chemistry. Nobel Web AB. 2007. Retrieved on December 14, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1911/marie-curie-lecture. html Curie, Marie. Encyclop? dia Britannica. 2007. Encyclop? dia Britannica Online. Retrieved on December 14, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-9028252/Marie-Curie Ogilvie, M. B. Marie Curie: A Biography. Greenwood Press. 2004. Quinn, S. Marie Curie: A Life. Perseus Book Group. 1996.
