Marie Curie was an extremely important woman of science during the 19th century. Marie was born in Poland when it was under Russian occupation. Under Russian occupation, it was difficult for young Polish people to get an education that was not corrupted or influenced by the Russian regime. So, Marie had to begin her studies in Warsaw's secret underground university, often called the Floating or Flying University. The Flying University defied Russian occupation with its pro-Polish curriculum and its admittance of women in its classes. Marie and her family struggled monetarily through most of her early life. She took a position as a governess so that she could earn money to support her sister's studies in Paris. While earning money to pursue her own studies, Marie educated herself further by reading and writing letters.
In 1891, Marie moved to Paris to stay with her sister while studying at the University of Paris. Marie studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics. After earning one of her degrees, Marie began her career when she decided to investigate the magnetic properties of metals. She soon met her future husband, Pierre Curie, who was also a scientists and a teacher. They began working on various projects together and eventually fell in love and got married.
Pierre and Marie Curie
In 1895, X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Roentegen and then in 1896 , Uranium was discovered to display X-ray like emissions. Marie was very interested in these studies and decided to work with uranium. One of her first uranium discoveries was that the element could conduct electricity in the air around it. This led to the important discovery that atoms are divisible from each other. This initial work with uranium led to further research on the radioactivity of different elements and minerals. Unfortunately, Marie and Pierre did not know about the risk they were taking by handling extremely radioactive elements without proper safety equipment.
In 1897, Marie and Pierre's daughter Irène was born. Marie got a position to teach at the École Normale Supérieure. Her job as a teacher helped support her family as well as her research. Marie and Pierre used a shed near the School of Physics and Chemistry as their laboratory. After making her discoveries, Marie quickly published her work, knowing that if she did not somebody else would get the credit for doing similar work by publishing their findings before her. In 1898, the Curie's published there discovery of polonium and radium, two radioactive elements, but it wasn't until 1910 that the Curie's successfully isolated pure radium. The couple published many papers on their work. One interesting paper was about how tumor-forming cancer cells, when exposed to radium, would die off faster than healthy cells. In 1903, Marie earned her doctorate and she and Pierre were invited to give a presentation in London about radioactivity. Unfortunately, because Marie was a woman she was not allowed to speak during the presentation, so Pierre had to do all the talking.
In 1903, Marie was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics for her research on radiation, making her the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize for her scientific work. The next year Marie and Pierre had a second daughter, Ève, but in 1906 Pierre died after being struck by a horse-drawn vehicle. After Pierre's death, the University of Paris granted Marie her husbands professorship position making her the first woman professor at that university. During World War I, Marie was involved in the Red Cross Radiology Service and helped provide mobile X-ray technology. After the war, she toured some parts of the world to raise funds for future radium research. Marie died in 1934 from aplastic anemia, a disease often caused by exposure to radiation. She and Pierre were interred in the Panthéon in Paris.
The Curie Family
In 1897, Marie and Pierre's daughter Irène was born. Marie got a position to teach at the École Normale Supérieure. Her job as a teacher helped support her family as well as her research. Marie and Pierre used a shed near the School of Physics and Chemistry as their laboratory. After making her discoveries, Marie quickly published her work, knowing that if she did not somebody else would get the credit for doing similar work by publishing their findings before her. In 1898, the Curie's published there discovery of polonium and radium, two radioactive elements, but it wasn't until 1910 that the Curie's successfully isolated pure radium. The couple published many papers on their work. One interesting paper was about how tumor-forming cancer cells, when exposed to radium, would die off faster than healthy cells. In 1903, Marie earned her doctorate and she and Pierre were invited to give a presentation in London about radioactivity. Unfortunately, because Marie was a woman she was not allowed to speak during the presentation, so Pierre had to do all the talking.
In 1903, Marie was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics for her research on radiation, making her the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize for her scientific work. The next year Marie and Pierre had a second daughter, Ève, but in 1906 Pierre died after being struck by a horse-drawn vehicle. After Pierre's death, the University of Paris granted Marie her husbands professorship position making her the first woman professor at that university. During World War I, Marie was involved in the Red Cross Radiology Service and helped provide mobile X-ray technology. After the war, she toured some parts of the world to raise funds for future radium research. Marie died in 1934 from aplastic anemia, a disease often caused by exposure to radiation. She and Pierre were interred in the Panthéon in Paris.
Visit these links for more on Marie Curie!
No comments:
Post a Comment