“It may not be generally known that in my papers published in the Electric Review of New York from 1896 to 1897, long before the discovery of radium by Madame Curie [1898], I demonstrated the existence and describe the salient properties of emanations of the same nature. My views were received with skepticism at that time, but I am glad to say that now they are adopted in their entirety. I see no reason for changing the opinions I then expressed. The so-called radium imitations are not an isolated phenomenon, but are universal. There is, according to my ideas, no such element as radium or polonium, although spectral analysis, the theory of Mendenleff, and various experimental observations, support this modern view. I believe, that as to this, scientific opinions is in error, as it was a century ago, in assuming that there was such a substance as phlogiston concerned in combustion until Lavoisier discovered oxygen. Similarly the radium manifestations are, in all probability, due to the action of a universal medium on certain volatile substances. Much of the speculation based on Madame Curie’s discovery is necessarily erroneous, being in direct contradiction to well established principles. The claims of some enthusiasts that in radium lies the possibility of future power development are nothing but a dream. But the sole fact is that we are in the presence of new and wonderful effects of the study of which is leading us gradually to a better and deeper understanding of the mechanism of the universe.”
–Nikola Tesla
“Nikola Tesla Talks Of The Future Of The Greatest Problems Now Confronting The Scientific World.” By E. Leslie Gilliams. New York Press, March 2, 1913.
On this day in 1903 Pierre Curie, accompanied by Marie Curie, gave a Friday Evening Discourse at the Ri, simply titled ‘Le Radium’.
That same year Pierre and Marie were awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics for their work on the spontaneous radiation discovered by Henri Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize.
Pierre Curie used an early sample of radium during his Discourse demonstration and stored it in this copper alloy pot and box, which are still radioactive to this day.
It’s always big ideas that propel people to big success. Marie Curie’s work is a great example, not just for the history of chemistry and physics, but for women in the sciences as well. After being rejected from the men-only University of Warsaw, Curie’s perseverance and curiosity for big ideas took her to the Sorbonne in Paris. Her groundbreaking work with radioactivity heralded her as the first-ever female recipient of the Nobel Prize, and the only woman in history to win twice for her work in two different fields.
→Marie Curie, née Maria Salomea Skłodowska, was born on November 7, 1867, in Poland to schoolteacher parents of modest means who encouraged their children’s educational aspirations. Determined to pursue a scientific career, Marie struck a deal with her sister Bronya, agreeing to fund Bronya’s medical degree in France by working as a governess. Bronya later helped Marie move to Paris and enroll at the prestigious Sorbonne, where she studied chemistry, math, and physics. She met her future husband, Pierre, while doing postgraduate research at the lab he supervised. The pair immediately bonded over their mutual interest in magnetism and fondness for cycling, and a year later they were married in Sceaux, France. In 1896, intrigued by the physicist Henri Becquerel’s accidental discovery of radioactivity, Curie began studying uranium rays. Two years later, the Curies discovered polonium — named after Marie’s homeland — and radium. In 1903, they shared the Nobel Prize in physics with Becquerel for their groundbreaking work on radioactivity. After Pierre’s tragic death in a 1906 accident, Marie was appointed to his seat at the Sorbonne, becoming the university’s first female professor. The first woman to be granted a Nobel Prize, Curie later became the first person to earn a second one. In 1911, she received the prestigious award — in chemistry this time — for her isolation of radium and other accomplishments. During World War I, Curie used her radiography expertise to set up dozens of mobile and permanent X-ray stations, which helped doctors diagnose and treat battlefield injuries. They became known as “petites Curies” for their famous creator. Decades of handling radioactive materials — the effects of which were poorly understood at the time — ultimately took a toll on Curie. She developed muscle aches, anemia, cataracts and a host of other symptoms. She died on July 4, 1934, of leukemia caused by exposure to radiation. In 1995, the remains of Curie and her husband were enshrined in Paris’s Pantheon, a mausoleum reserved for distinguished French thinkers. She became the second woman to receive this honor and the first to earn it through her own achievements.
“I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician, he is also a child place before natural phenomenon, which impress him like a fairy tale.”
Marie Curie, (7 November 1867 - 4 July 1934) renown Polish-born chemist, composed a theory of radioactivity. Curie was the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize (1903); she remains the only woman to have received the Prize twice, as well as the only person, ever, to receive the Prize in two sciences.
Marie Curie, The Courage of Knowledge dir. Marie Noëlle (2016)
A biography of the legendary, Nobel Prize–winning physicist and chemist, who courted controversy with both her challenging of France’s male-dominated academic establishment.
