Magnifique

November 7 marks the anniversary of the birth of Madame Marie Curie. Born Maria Sklodowska in Warsaw in 1867, Maria graduated from high school at age fifteen but was denied admittance to Polish universities because of her gender. In 1891, Maria moved to Paris. After working as a governess, Mariia changed her name to the more French sounding, Marie and enrolled at The Sorbonne.  After earning top honors, she was awarded a scholarship. Having little money, Marie lived on bread, butter and tea and she was constantly fainting due to hunger.  Her poor eating habits and fainting episodes continued even after she became famous.

In 1895, Marie married fellow scientist Pierre Curie and the two began studies of the properties of uranium. The duo did not have a well-equipped laboratory but rather, a converted shed that was exposed to the elements. In 1898, in their dingy laboratory, Marie theorized that there must be another element causing uranium to be highly radioactive. The Curies extracted a black powder that was 330 times more radioactive than Uranium. Marie named the element Polonium in honor of her homeland. The couple soon became convinced that there was yet another substance that contributed to high levels of radioactivity.  After further experimentation, they discovered radium.

These breakthroughs radically changed the understanding of the nature of matter and established the foundations of radioactivity. Marie coined the term “radioactivity” to describe the ability of certain elements to emit radiation without the need for an external source.

Their findings laid the foundation for the development of nuclear physics and the understanding of atomic structure. The Curies received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903. A woman had never won the prize before, and the Nobel committee only agreed to honor Marie because her husband insisted. Three years later, Pierre suffered a gruesome death, after falling under the wheels of a horse drawn wagon. Marie refused a pension offered by the government but did accept The Sorbonne’s offer to take Pierre’s faculty position, thereby becoming the first woman professor at the university.

In 1911, Marie was publicly shamed for carrying on a love affair with a fellow scientist and she fell into a deep depression. Albert Einstein who had met Marie at a scientific conference sent a letter of encouragement to her, writing “I have come to admire your intellect, your drive, and your honesty, and I consider myself lucky to have made your personal acquaintance”.

World War I
After observing the carnage on World War I battlefields, Marie designed mobile radiography units by installing Xray machines into cars. Twenty mobile units, all operated by women were deployed and 200 additional X-Ray machines were installed in field hospitals. It is estimated that one million lives were saved by this initiative. Marie also tried to sell her Nobel Prize and gold medals to help the war effort, but the French National Bank declined her offer.

Radioactivity
The Curies were driven by scientific advancement rather than money.  Accordingly, they did not patent the radium-isolation process.  Radium became such a hot commodity for traders and industrialists that the cost of a single gram grew to $100,000, preventing the Curies from buying the material for additional research. Still, Marie investigated the use of radiation to treat cancerous tumors. She and her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie laid the foundation for modern radiation therapy. They became the only mother-daughter pair to hold Nobel Prizes when Irene won the chemistry prize in 1935.

Pierre and Marie both died unaware that radioactive elements were damaging to their health. Their scientific papers are still radioactively contaminated and are preserved in lead-lined boxes. Marie actually kept a radium sample at her bedside as a nightlight.  Marie Curie, the only person to have won Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Physics and Chemistry) died at the age of 67 from aplastic anemia caused by her prolonged exposure to radiation.

Einstein observed “she probably was the only person whom fame and money could not corrupt”.

Have a great weekend. For a great holiday gift, check out my book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Go to www.tedcurtinstories.com for direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.