The greatness of Maria Skłodowska-Curie

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1 The greatness of Maria Skłodowska-Curie presented by Andrzej K. Wróblewski (University of Warsaw)

2 A crash course in the history of Poland Poland, or more precisely, Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth, once a powerful country, the largest in Europe, became weakened by perpetual wars with Russia and Turkey, and was finally, in 1795, partitioned among Russia, Prussia and Austria

3 Europe VIII 2011

4 Thus, Maria Skłodowska was born in Russian occupied Warsaw as a subject of the Russian tsar

5 Born on November 7, 1867 in this house at 16, Freta Street

6 Maria and Bronia (1886)

7 A few facts about the first steps of Maria Skłodowska-Curie 1883 graduated from a high school in Warsaw (first place) 1891 in November left for Paris (with a Russian passport) July 28, graduated as "licenciée des sciences physiques" (first in a class of thirty) July 28, graduated as "licenciée des sciences mathématiques" (second in her class) 1895 July 26, marriage with Pierre Curie (became French citizen) 1896 August 15, came out first in the examination for teachers; undertook a study of magnetic properties of tempered steel

8 The first scientific publication of Maria Skłodowska-Curie Comptes Rendus 125, p (1897) J'ai étudié les propriétés magnétiques d'aciers trempés de com connue et dans des conditions de trempe déterminées. Les échantil mis à ma sous forme de barre

9 FROM X-RAYS TO RADIOACTIVITY

10 Discovery of radioactivity was an accidental consequence of the discovery of X-rays

11 Röntgen discovered X-rays by accident

12 Academy of Science meeting in Paris, January 20, 1896 Henri Poincaré: Emission of X rays may be connected with phosphorescence

minerals Academy of Science meeting on February 24, 1896

13 Accident no 1: Becquerel picked up uranium-potassium sulphide out of his rich collection of phosphorescent minerals Academy of Science meeting on February 24, 1896 Yes, my experiment confirmed Poincaré s hypothesis Henri Becquerel

kept my arrangements all prepared and put back the holders in the dark in the drawer of the case, and left in place the crusts of uranium salt.

14 Accident no 2: weather in Paris deteriorated...among the preceding experiments some had been ready on Wednesday the 26 th and Thursday the 27 th of February and as on those days the sun only showed itself intermittently I kept my arrangements all prepared and put back the holders in the dark in the drawer of the case, and left in place the crusts of uranium salt. Since the sun did not show itself again for several days I developed the photographic plates on the 1 th of March, expecting to find the images very feeble. The silhouettes appeared on the contrary with great intensity. I at once thought that the action might be able to go on in the dark. Henri Becquerel Academy of Science meeting on March 2, 1896

15 Becquerel s reports to the Academy of Science in II uranium emits radiation after exposure to light wrong 2 III uranium emits radiation by itself right 9 III intensity of uranium radiation unchanged after keeping it for a few days in darkness uranium radiation is reflected and refracted right wrong 23 III intensity of uranium radiation is much right larger than that of the Crookes tube 30 III uranium radiation undergoes double refraction wrong in traversing a piece of tourmaline 23 V radiation of metallic uranium is more intensive right than that of its compounds

$..becquerel has shown that the radiation from the uranium salts can be polarised, so that it is undoubtedly light; it can also be refracted.$

16 Since the discovery of the Röntgen Rays, Becquerel has discovered a new kind of light, which in its properties resembles the Röntgen rays more closely than any kind of light hitherto known...becquerel has shown that the radiation from the uranium salts can be polarised, so that it is undoubtedly light; it can also be refracted. It forms a link between the Röntgen rays and ordinary light, it resembles the Röntgen rays in its photographic action, in power of penetrating substances opaque to ordinary light, and in the characteristic electrical effect, while it resembles ordinary light in its capacity for polarisation, in its liability to refraction... J. J. Thomson, Rede Lecture The Röntgen Rays, Cambridge University, June 10, 1896

17 Summary on the new rays in the middle of 1896 (unchanged until the spring of 1898) Property Röntgen Uranium rays rays Penetration through paper Yes Yes and aluminium Penetration through heavier metals No No Action on photographic plates Yes Yes Ionization of air Yes Yes Reflection No Yes* Refraction No Yes* Polarization No Yes* Nature? Very short ether waves * Erroneous Becquerel s results of March, 1896

18 Becquerel decided to leave the field of radioactivity which seemed to be an uninteresting problem and for two years, until March 1899, studied only the Zeeman s effect

19 Becquerel rays occupy a unique position, inasmuch as far more is definitely known about them than any of the other new rays. With X-rays nothing has been proven one way or the other about their character, save that if they are ultra-violet rays their wavelength must be extremely small... With the rays of Becquerel there can be no reasonable doubt that they are short transverse ether waves. Oscar M. Stewart, Phys. Rev. No. 4, April

20 A STAR OF SCIENCE IS BORN

Tempus mirabile of Maria Skłodowska-Curie 12 August 1897 daughter Irène is born 7 November 1897 Maria is 30 years of age 27 December 1897 first publication (on tempered steel) I had decided on a

21 Tempus mirabile of Maria Skłodowska-Curie 12 August 1897 daughter Irène is born 7 November 1897 Maria is 30 years of age 27 December 1897 first publication (on tempered steel) I had decided on a theme of my doctorate. My attention had been drawn to the interesting experiments of Henri Becquerel on the salts of the rare metal uranium. Maria Skłodowska-Curie - Autobiographical Notes 12 April 1898 publication of the ground-breaking article 18 June 1898 discovery of polonium 26 December 1898 discovery of radium

22 Maria Skłodowska-Curie, April 12, 1898 I have studied the conductivity of air under the influence of the rays from uranium, discovered by Mr. Becquerel, and I have sought whether any other bodies than those composed of uranium are able to render air a conductor of electricity.

23 I used for this study a plate condenser; one of the plates was covered with a uniform layer of uranium or another substance pulverised. A difference of potential of 100 Volts was established between the plates. The current, which passed through the condenser, was measured in absolute value by means of an electrometer and a piezo-electric quartz.

24 I have examined a great number of metals, salts, oxides and minerals...all the compounds of uranium studied are very active and they are, in general, the more active the more uranium they contain. The compounds of thorium are very active. The oxide of thorium even exceeds metallic uranium in activity. It should be noted that two most active elements, uranium and thorium, are those which have the greatest atomic weight. Maria Skłodowska-Curie, April 12, 1898

25 Two ores of uranium, pitchblende (uranium oxide) and chalcolite (phosphate of copper and uranium) are much more active than uranium itself. This fact is very remarkable and leads to the belief that these minerals may contain an element much more active than uranium... I have produced chalcolite by the process of Debray from pure materials, this artificial chalcolite is no more active than any other salt of uranium. Maria Skłodowska-Curie, April 12, 1898

27 To interpret the spontaneous radiation of uranium and thorium one might imagine that all space is constantly traversed by rays analogous to Röntgen rays but much more penetrating and able to be absorbed only by certain elements of high atomic weight, such as uranium and thorium. Maria Skłodowska-Curie, April 12, 1898

28 Synopsis of the paper of April 12, 1898 Good quantitative method of detection Large number of investigated substances Discovery of thorium radiation Intensity of radiation in general found proportional to the contents of uranium in various minerals Radiation is an atomic property of uranium Chalcolite and pitchblende radiation stronger than uranium Synthesis of chalcolite from its components Bold hypothesis about the existence of a new strongly radioactive chemical element Analysis of absorption of uranium and thorium radiation Comparison of the effects of uranium and thorium radiation with that of Röntgen rays Bold hypothesis about possible source of energy of uranium and thorium radiation

29 Maria Skłodowska-Curie and others Emilio Villari studied the discharge of an electroscope by uranite (same as pitchblende!) he did not think about quantitative measurements Gerhardt Schmidt did not attempt measurements of the intensity of radiation of various minerals containing uranium he obviously considered it to be a loss of time Maria Skłodowska-Curie made a great discovery by looking for answers to very simple questions

30 Emilio Villari ( ) Il Nuovo Cimento 7, nr 1, 46 (1898)

31 Gerhardt Schmidt Annalen der Physik 65, 141 (1898) Dates: presentation submitted proofs 4 II 24 III 23 IV

33 Comparison of careers Gerhardt Carl Schmidt (b in London) Ph.D. in Basel (1891) assistant of Wiedemann in Erlangen numerous publications on gases, luminescence, conductivity Radioactivity of thorium 1898 prof. Erlangen university prof. Konigsberg university prof. Münster university from 1908 Publicatons on luminescence and conductivity (died 1949) Maria Skłodowska-Curie (b in Warsaw) Radioactivity of thorium 1898 Disc. polonium and radium 1898 Ph.D. in Paris (1903) Nobel Prize (1903) prof. Paris university from 1906 numerous publications on radioactivity Nobel Prize (1911) (died 1934)

34 Summary on the new rays in the spring of 1898 Property Röntgen Uranium Thorium rays rays rays Penetration through paper Yes Yes Yes and aluminium Penetration through No No No heavier metals Action on photographic plates Yes Yes Yes Ionization of air Yes Yes Yes Reflection No Yes* Yes (?)** Refraction No Yes* Yes** Polarization No Yes* No** Nature? Very short? ether waves * Erroneous Becquerel s results of March, 1896 ** Schmidt s results of February, 1898

35 It appeared that the results of my work were so interesting that Monsieur Curie interrupted his crystallographic work and joined me to take part in the experiments. Since then we worked together trying to extract and investigate new radioactive bodies. Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Ph.D. Thesis (1903)

Discovery of polonium (June 18, 1898) Certain minerals containing uranium and thorium (pitchblende, chalcolite, uranite) are very active from the point of view of emission of Becquerel rays.

36 Discovery of polonium (June 18, 1898) Certain minerals containing uranium and thorium (pitchblende, chalcolite, uranite) are very active from the point of view of emission of Becquerel rays. In earlier work, one of us has shown that their activity is even greater than that of uranium and thorium, and has made the statement that this effect must be due to some other very active substance contained in a very small quantity in these minerals... We believe therefore that the substance, which we have recovered from pitchblende contains a metal not yet described, related to bismuth in its analytical properties. If the existence of this new metal is confirmed, we propose to call it polonium, after the native country of one of us.

38 Nature, 28 VI 1898

Discovery of radium (December 26,1898) The different reasons which we have enumerated lead us to believe that the new radio-active substance contains a new element to which we propose to give the

39 Discovery of radium (December 26,1898) The different reasons which we have enumerated lead us to believe that the new radio-active substance contains a new element to which we propose to give the name of radium... The new radio-active substance certainly contains a very great proportion of barium; in spite of that, the radioactivity is considerable. The radio-activity of radium must therefore be enormous...

40 Extraction of polonium from pitchblende reconstructed by Krystyna Kabzińska Wydzielanie polonu z blendy (K. Kabzińska)

41 Wydzielanie radu z blendy Extraction (K. Kabzińska) of radium from pitchblende reconstructed by Krystyna Kabzińska

42 Museum of Industry and Agriculture building at 66, Krakowskie Przedmieście Street If professor Napoleon Milicer and his assistant Kossakowski had not taught me analysis so well in Warsaw, I would never have been able to isolate radium. Maria Skłodowska-Curie

43 Summary on the new rays in the spring of 1899 Property Röntgen uranium, thorium, polonium, radium rays rays Penetration through paper Yes Yes and aluminium Penetration through heavier metals No No Action on photographic plates Yes Yes Ionization of air Yes Yes Reflection No No Refraction No No Polarization No No Nature??

44 M. Skłodowska-Curie, Rev. Gen. des Sciences (January 1899) First hypotheses concerning the source of energy of radioactive elements: A kind of phosphorescence with very long decay time (an improbable hypothesis) Emission of matter accompanied by a loss of mass of radioactive substances Energy of radioactive bodies continuously decreases; this hypothesis could be connected with Crookes ideas on the evolution of elements Heavy atoms have the property of absorption of energy from outside sources and its emission in a form of penetrating radiation

45 Number of publications on radioactivity Based on the article by Max Iklé, Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik, 1, (1904)

46 Becquerel, full of shame and chagrin, returned to his experiments and soon retracted erronenous results which he published in March, He tried to make up for lost time and very frequently visited Curie s laboratory, In March 1902 Pierre Curie wrote to his friend Georges Gouy that...becquerel is most obtrusive, we have him constantly breathing down our necks

47 You will probably have seen by this time that Becquerel has run amok... He says the 'rays from radium... do not suffer decrease of velocity after passing through matter but rather increase!!!... I have never seen a more damnable confession of intellectual impotence in one who considers himself a leader of science I consider Becquerel is an ass of the first water and I trust he will be snowed under. Ernest Rutherford in a letter to William H. Bragg, November 4, 1905

48 TRAGIC YEAR 1906

49 On 19 April, 1906, Pierre Curie was killed in a road accident in Paris. Maria Skłodowska-Curie was left with two daughters: Eve (born December 6, 1904) and Irène (born August 12, 1897) Photograph from 1906

50 The radium controversy On August 9, 1906 a letter from Kelvin was published in The Times. Kelvin announced that radium in not an element but just a molecule composed of an atom of lead and five atoms of helium. This met with criticism from Rutherford, Soddy and others. However an eminent chemist Henry Armstrong supported Kelvin by declaring that radium is so rare that in fact nothing is known about it

51 Because of personal tragedy Maria Skłodowska- Curie was not able to take part in the radium controversy. She understood that the best answer to similar attacks will be extraction of metallic radium. She achieved it in 1910, together with André Debierne. In the same year she obtained a quantity of polonium sufficient to prove by spectral analysis its nature as chemical element

52 MADAME PROFESSOR CURIE

53 A sketch in L Illustration of the first lecture of Marie Curie in the University of Paris

54 Some events in the later life of Maria Skłodowska-Curie 1906 First woman to give lectures at the Sorbonne 1908 First woman appointed as professor at the Sorbonne 1911 January - not elected to the Academy of Science (lost by 1 vote) 1911 October - Participated in the I st Solvay Council in Brussels 1911 December - Received her second Nobel Prize (for chemistry) 1914 First woman director of a major French science laboratory (Institut du Radium) Organized and directed a mobile radiological service Member of the International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation (of the League of Nations) First woman elected to the French Academy of Medicine

55 I st Solvay Council in Brussels FN 2011

56 Institut du Radium at Rue Marie et Pierre Curie in Paris This laboratory dedicated to radioactivity was inaugurated in 1914 A twin laboratory was inaugurated in Warsaw after the 1 st World War when Poland regained her Independence

1914-1918 Marie Curie and her daughter Irène played a key role in promoting radiography

57 Marie Curie and her daughter Irène played a key role in promoting radiography close to the front line during the 1 st World War A mobile radiography unit petite curie

58 Maria Skłodowska-Curie died of leukemia on July 4, 1934

59 Mme Curie retained her enthusiasm for science and scientific investigation throughout her life. She was an indefatigable worker and was never happier than in discussing scientific problems with her friends... Quiet, dignified and unassuming, she was held in high esteem and admiration by scientific men throughout the world, and was a welcome member of scientific conferences, in many of which she took an active part... The many friends of Mme Curie throughout the world, who admired her not only for her scientific talents but also for her fine character and personality, lament the untimely removal of one who had made such great contributions to knowledge, and, through her discoveries, to the welfare of mankind. Ernest Rutherford, Nature, 21 July 1934

60 Myths concerning Maria Skłodowska-Curie Pierre Curie recommended his wife to Becquerel and asked him to be her doctoral thesis advisor Maria Skłodowska-Curie performed investigations in Becquerel s laboratory All discoveries were made by Pierre Curie, while Maria served only as his expert assistant

61 THE END

The life and work of Marie Curie

Reading Practice The life and work of Marie Curie Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on radioactivity,