Inventor: Marie Curie (Madam Curie)

Invention/Discovery: Radium 

Radium is one of the major discoveries of Marie Curie which revolutionized the world. The life of Marie Curie is a sheer example of hard work and determination.

Maria Sklodowska was born as the fifth child of a patriotic Polish family. Being brilliant in her studies, Maria finished her graduation with flying colours. She continued her studies in Paris.

From Sorbonne University she took her master’s in physics in the year 1893 and mathematics a year later. Maria wanted to go back to Poland once she finished her studies. But destiny had other plans for her; otherwise, perhaps the world would have lost at least some of the valuable inventions of Marie Curie. In Paris, Marie met one of the famous French physicists, Pierre Curie and they got married in 1895. The inventions of Marie Curie were mostly a result of their collaborative efforts.

During that time, hot debate was going on about the property of radioactivity. Scientist Henry Becquerel came up with some astonishing findings on radioactivity. Maria selected the same subject for her thesis.

After doing some initial research on the subject, Marie concluded that there are elements other than Uranium which exhibited the phenomenon of radioactivity. Her finding that radiation is an atomic property itself was revolutionary. Soon she found that the element Thorium exhibits radioactivity. Pierre constantly guided her in all these endeavors.

The couple experimented with pitch blende, an ore of Uranium which was cheaply available. They detected the presence of a radioactive element which is very similar to barium in its properties, but much more powerful than Uranium in radioactivity. They worked with great zest and found out two elements- Polonium and Radium, the latter being the powerful radioactive element. While Marie extracted and purified the radioactive elements, Pierre measured them. The amazing inventions of Marie Curie were duly recognized when both husband and wife were conferred the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and Marie Curie became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize

Marie later realized that what she isolated was not pure Radium. Her next attempt was to extract pure Radium. She succeeded in isolating pure Radium and determining its atomic weight. She discovered that one mole of radium has a mass of 226 grams. For these findings, she was awarded the Nobel Prize again in 1911, this time in chemistry. But Pierre Curie did not live to see the happy moment; he died in an accident in 1906. After his death, Madam Curie was appointed as the Director of physics laboratory in Sorbonne.

Altogether the inventions of Marie Curie proved to be of great value to mankind. It was she who coined the word “radioactivity”. She found that radiation can kill normal human cells. Based on the fact, she stated that it can be manipulated to treat cancer where it destroys the tumour cells. Marie gave the idea of X-ray machines and designed them.

During the time of First World War, the inventions of Marie Curie proved to be a real blessing to treat the wounded soldiers. She designed mobile X-ray machines and even went to the war front to help the soldiers.

Even though the inventions of Marie Curie could have fetched her a fortune, she never tried to patent the inventions. Like Albert Einstein said, “Marie Curie is, of all celebrated beings, the only one whom fame has not corrupted.” Madam Curie died of aplastic anemia in 1934, possibly due to the prolonged exposure to radiations as a result of her research work.

Her mortal remains were later transported to the famous dome of Pantheon in Paris.

Inventor: Madam (Marie) Curie

Invention: Radium

Rarely has a woman made such a name in history as Marie Curie did. The accomplishments of Marie Curie provide ample evidence as to how perseverance and hard work can work wonders.

Maria Sklodowska was the maiden name of Marie Curie. She was born as the fifth child of a Polish family in Warsaw. Her father and mother both were teachers who gave the highest priority towards the education of their children. Maria was a precocious child and was the most brilliant among them. Though she displayed exceptional talents, the lifelong accomplishments of Marie Curie were purely a result of hard work and patience.

Maria’s childhood was not a prosperous one. The family often struggled financially. Nevertheless, her parents maintained their focus on educating their children well. Maria easily learnt most of the things from her parents. In fact she was so enthusiastic to learn new things that she would even forget about food and sleep.

Maria was shaken by the early demises of her mother and elder sister. Despite her personal losses she continued to perform well in her studies. But due to severe financial losses, Maria was forced to temporarily abandon her studies after her schooling in Poland. Going to Paris to continue her studies was a tough task for her. So she planned to send her elder sister Bronislawa to Paris for the time being to take her medical graduation. She even worked as a governess to help her sister in her studies. When Bronoslawa finished her graduation, she sent Maria to Paris for her master’s degree.

Maria joined Sorbonne University, Paris to take her master’s degree in physics and mathematics. In 1893, she took the master’s in physics and a year later, in mathematics as well. She planned to return to Poland after her brilliant achievements in Paris. But in Sorbonne, she happened to meet the famous French physicist Pierre Curie. The common interest in the research subject brought them together. They got married on July 25 1895 to start a new life in Paris. This was a turning point in her life which triggered off the series of accomplishments of Marie Curie.

Marie Curie got interested in the amazing revelations by the famous scientist Henry Becquerel on radioactivity. No wonder, she selected the challenging subject for her thesis. The later accomplishments of Marie Curie were based on the assumptions that radioactivity is an atomic property. She suggested the presence of other radioactive elements which were much powerful than Uranium. In order to prove her stand, she worked incessantly, while maintaining the enthusiasm. Her partner Pierre Curie effectively assisted and guided her in each and every step. As a result of these efforts, they proved that Thorium was a radioactive element. Both husband and wife continued their research with pitch blende, the easily available ore of Uranoum. World saw the greatest accomplishments of Marie Curie when she discovered the two radioactive elements – Polonium (in respect of her home country) and Radium in the year of 1898.

The invention of Radium, one among the accomplishments of Marie Curie, still finds its application in most of the fields of science, that too with full swing. Marie Curie took her doctorate in science by presenting these findings. The scientific community could not ignore the worthy accomplishments of Marie Curie. Madam Curie, Pierre Curie and Henry Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in the year of 1903. Marie thus became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize.

The tragic death of Pierre Curie was a big blow to Marie, but the iron lady continued with her research work in Radium. The efforts were duly recognized when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for the second time in 1911, this time in Chemistry. Despite the financial difficulties she faced, she never attempted to patent the valuable inventions. Her great life came to an end in 1934 after saving millions of human lives. As an honour, her mortal remains were moved to the dome of Pantheon in Paris later.