Marie Curie’s Achievements

Following Henri Becquerel’s discovery (1896) of a new phenomenon (which she later called “radioactivity”), Marie decided to find out if the property discovered in uranium was to be found in other matter. She discovered that this was true for thorium at the same time as Gerhard Carl Schmidt did. Turning her attention to minerals, she found her interest drawn to pitchblende. Pitchblende, a mineral whose activity is superior to that of pure uranium, could be explained only by the presence in the ore of small quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. Pierre then joined Marie in the work that she had undertaken to resolve this problem and that led to the discovery of the new elements, polonium and radium. Pierre devoted himself chiefly to the physical study of the new radiations. In 1902 Marie succeeded in isolating one-tenth of a gram of radium chloride that was entirely free from barium. Scientists soon recognized the importance of this work. In 1903 Marie , Pierre, and Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. Marie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in any subject. Pure radium alone was not isolated until 1910 by Marie with the help of chemist André-Louis Debierne, one of Pierre’s pupils. The radioactivity of pure radium proved to be more than one million times as great as that of either uranium or thorium. In 1911 Marie was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, for the isolation of pure radium.

Throughout her working life Marie had focused on making new scientific discoveries. However, when World War I began, Marie realized that X-ray technology could play an important role in the care of wounded soldiers. With X-rays doctors could see a patient’s injuries. They could see broken bones and figure out how to mend them. They could find and possibly remove bullets and shards of metal. During the war Marie raised money to develop a fleet of mobile radiology labs that could transport X-ray technology to battlefronts. Doctors used X-ray technology to examine and treat soldiers who had been injured. French soldiers called these radiology cars “petites Curies,” meaning little Curies. Marie also insisted on driving one of the radiology cars. She taught herself how to drive and basic automotive maintenance. She learned human anatomy and X-ray machine operation and taught these to others. Then she and her daughter Irène drove to the battlefront and helped X-ray wounded soldiers.

Marie was determined that research into radiation should continue after her death. She helped found the Radium Institute (now called the Curie Institute) in Paris, France. It became a world-renowned center for nuclear physics and chemistry research. She also helped found the Curie Foundation in Paris and the Radium Institute of Warsaw. Marie understood the need to accumulate intense radioactive sources. The existence in Paris at the Radium Institute of a stock of 1.5 grams of radium, in which over a period of several years radium D and polonium had accumulated, made a decisive contribution to the success of the experiments undertaken in the years around 1930—in particular of those experiments performed by Irène in conjunction with her husband, Frédéric Joliot-Curie. This work prepared the way for the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick and for the discovery in 1934 by Irène and Frédéric of artificial radioactivity. For their discovery they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935.