Madame Curie: A Biography by Eve Curie

Marie Sklodowska Curie, at that time she was just Maria Sklodowska, was born November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. she was born one of five, her father was a mathmatics and physics teacher, and her mother managed a boarding school. at the age of ten her sister died of typhus, then at age twelve her mother died of tuberculosis. Maria was asked by her sister to come to Paris with her and her husband. after a love struggle she decided to go to Paris, where she renewed her studies of physics, chemistry, and mathmatics in the prestigious school Sorbonne (the University of Paris). in 1893 she was given her degree in physics and in 1894 she had her mathmatics degree.

While Maria was studying the magnetic properties of various steels, Pierre Curie was a teacher in the School of Physics and Chemistry. this mutual interest in magnetism eventually brought them together. they shared a close relationship until Maria left to Poland where she wanted to work in her desired feild of study. yet, Krakow University denied her membership on the grounds that she was a women. a year later she returned to Paris and married Pierre.

In 1896 one Henri Bacquerel discovered that uranium raproduces rays that are similar to x-rays. this discovery spurred Maria to study uranium rays for her thesis. she used a special device for measuring electric charge that her husband had invented. after many studies she discovered that the amount rays depends on the quantity of uranium present. she then concluded that the rays were not just a molecular reaction, but the actual atoms were producing the rays. immediatley after this discovery she sent her conclusion to the Academy of Science, where they gave her credit for discovering the origin of radiation.

In her studies she discovered that both pitchblende and chalcolite produced more rays then uranium. she sought after the answer to what element in the minerals is so potent. in 1898 Maria and Pierre published a paper saying that they have discovered the elements: polonium and radium. polonium was easy to discovery, it resembled another element so Maria just had to find the element that looks similar. Radium on the other hand was much harder to find. in 1902 Maria and Pierre had seperated 1/10 of a gram of radium chloride from a ton of pitchblende.

In 1903 Maria, Pierre, and Henri were given the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discoveries in radiation. Maria became the first women ever to have been given the Nobel Prize. in 1906 her husband was killed by a carriage while he was crossing the street. the University of Paris gave Maria his seat as prfessor, a short while after that she had derived pure radium metal from the pitchblende. in 1911 she was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, now she was not only the first women to have been given a Nobel Prize but she was also the first person ever to have been given two.

In world war 1 Maria invented these cars that were used for helping wounded soldiers, they were known as petites Curies or Little Curies. they were powered by the radioactive gas that radium produces, it is called radon which is now on the periodic table.

She died of an aplastic anemia, that can almost certainly be linked to her exposure to so much radiation. since the science was so new nobody knew that radiation could be so harmful. and it doesn't help that she carried around tubes full of radon in her pocket because she liked the way it looked.

Marie Curie's studies have very much relevence to science. not only did she discover 3 new elements: Radium, Polonium, and Radon. but, she also discovered the origin of radiation. the periodic table is one of science's greatest guides. it gives that names of all the discovered elements, and it even leaves room to discover more. Marie's discoveries filled in a large gap in the table.

Marie's discoveries have changed science forever. she opened the door for female scientists, she proved that through hard work a women can get a Nobel Prize and get a second. this made many universities and schools lass prejudiced about women. not only did she help women everywhere her studies also helped the scintific world. radium is being used for cancer treatment, and polonium is being used to power space satellites. finally, radon is being used to help predict earthquakes. we should all thank Marie Curie for discovering these elements.