Marie Curie Influences

Imagine picking through a pile of rocks and finding a new element that had not been discovered. That is exactly what Marie Sklodowska-Curie did when she was working with radioactive substances. Marie was best known for her discoveries in radioactivity. Marie Curie was a world-renowned scientist known for her scientific discoveries in radioactivity that changed society by advancing medical techniques and nuclear energy. Marie Curie’s childhood greatly impacted her future. She was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1876. Her father and mother, who were both teachers, were one major influence that led to Marie Curie excelling in math and science. Since higher education was limited for women, she and one of her sisters educated themselves.

In 1918 she devoted herself to the discovery of new medical uses for radioactive materials at the Radium Institute, which was the center of nuclear physics and chemistry. She became interested in the use of radiation to cure tumors. She also created the first portable x-ray to support the war effort during World War 1(Mary Caballero). Her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie with Fredric discovered a way to make artificial radioisotopes to apply in safe dosages for the treatment of tumors (Andrezej

She created the Radium Institute and inspired future research on the new properties she discovered. She also was an inspiration to many new scientists in her field (Mary Caballero). Her work in medication led to a technique field called nuclear medicine, which is when substances that have been introduced to radioactive elements are introduced into the body’s organs. Radio therapy would not be around to help treat cancer if she had not helped discover radioactivity. She also has the Marie Curie Memorial (Andrzej Kutakowski). This impacted society because it increased the population as average life expectancy was