Scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the usefulness of science, and then there is always that chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium: a benefit.
-Marie Curie
Marie Curie was born on Novermber 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. She was born into a family with 5 other siblings. Her parents were both teachers. Her father was a science teacher and supplemented her education at school. she was involved in a student run revolutionary organization. In 1891 she left Poland after it fell to Russia. In Paris, she continued her studies at the Sorbonne. She received Licenciateships in physics and mathematical sciences. In 1894, she met Pierre Curie a professor in the school of physics. Later on, they would marry and have three children.
Her discovery.
Marie's inspiration was the rays that were discovered by Roenfghen and Henri Becquerel. Roenfghen is credited for the discovery of x-rays and Becquerel for rays given off by Uranium. Marie began to further discover these rays. When examining the material called Pitchelende she thought she was finding rays of Uranium. Surprisingly, she found many more rays than expected. After working for many hours in the lab with her husband, they found out there were two new elements in the substance. One element was named Polonium after her birthplace, Poland. The other element that she found was named Radium due to the fact that it gave off so many rays. Her and her husband developed the term "radioactivity" to describe the characteristic some elements have when they emit rays.
HER Awards.
In 1903, Marie and Pierre won the Nobel prize in physics for their work in radiation. At this time, Marie was the only women in history to win a Nobel prize in physics. In 1911, Marie won the Nobel prize in chemistry due to her discovery of two new elements. This made her the only person in history to win two Nobel prizes in more than one field.
HER WAR EFFORTS.
Marie Curie's research concluded the x-ray can help determine an injury in a wounded soldier. She noticed there were not enough x-ray machines to supply every hospital with enough equipment. She came up with an idea. Marie Curie told doctors that x-ray machines can be shared by hospitals if they are properly placed in a truck and used correctly. Marie was responsible for training doctors on how to use the equipment and installed many. These trucks are better known as petites Curies. It is believed that this invention saved the lives of over 1,000,000 soldiers in WWI.
her death.
Marie died July 4, 1934. She died from overexposure of radiation from her experiments and her work with x-rays. Due to such a devastating death, as of today there are many safety measures to keep scientists safe from exposure and other harmful chemicals.