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.

She soon became a governess and studied in her own time. Marie’s childhood influenced her future career and discoveries that would come. Curie later went to Sorbonne University in Paris. While working at the university she grew extremely interested in the invisible waves called radio waves (Mary Caballero).
Marie Curie became well known for her discoveries in radioactivity. While working at Sorbonne University, Curie met her husband Pierre and had her two daughters Irene and Eva. While at the university, she became interested with the invisible rays called radio waves (Mary Caballero).Marie Curie started working with pitchblende, which is a blend of elements that contain uranium. Unlike other scientists during the time, she theorized that the radioactivity of a substance came from its atomic structure, not the shape or size, which was more commonly believed(Marie-Curie). When she was working with it, she noticed a black powder that was far more radioactive then pure uranium. She called this new element radium, and it was added onto the Periodic Table. While using acid to separate the parts of pitchblende, she and her husband found another element that was 330 times more radioactive then pure uranium. After much controversy, she added this new element to the Periodic Table, and it was named polonium (Mary Caballero).
As a result of her work Marie was awarded two Nobel Prizes. Marie and Pierre Curie in 1903 won a Nobel Prize in physics jointly with Henri Becquerel for their loosely combined work in the discovery of natural radioactivity. Marie was the first women to win a Nobel Prize. Then in 1911 she won a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of Radium and Polonium (Nobel Prize).
She committed herself to discover new ways that radiation could help cure illnesses. Marie Curie founded the Radium Institute, which is now the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center. At the opening ceremony she stated,
“Therapy should be permanently backed up by scientific research without which no progress is possible. Moreover, the search for pure knowledge is one of the important needs of mankind.” (Nobel Prize)
This quote shows that Marie Curie understood the importance of solid research to back up therapeutic practices (Andrzej Kulakowski).

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

Kulakowski).
Marie Curie worked at a few universities and spoke in many countries about her discoveries and ideas. When Pierre died she took his place in Sorbonne University and became the first female professor there (Mary Caballero). While in the United States a women named, Mrs. Meloney, started a campaign so the women of America could donate one-hundred-thousand dollars for Curie to buy one more gram of radium which had significantly increased in price. She also received 100 mg of low quality radium for the government (1921: Marie).
Marie Curie Impacted society through her discoveries in radioactivity and medical research.

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

increased.
Because of Marie Curie’s research and discoveries in radioactivity modern warfare was changed forever. Her research led to the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb brought an end to World War two. When it was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki it forced Japan to reluctantly surrender their power in the Pacific. It also was a factor in the Cold War. Russia and the United States did not trust each other and did not want to destroy the bombs because they were afraid that the other country would use them. This led to both countries building up nuclear weapon stockpiles. This conflict ended when Russia and the United States signed a document that they agreed to start disabling their nuclear weapons.
Today nuclear energy is a viable form of energy because of Marie Curie’s discoveries. Nuclear energy happens when uranium is split by an electron. The initial reaction creates massive amounts of heat that turns water, running through pipes, into steam so it can turn a turbine to produce electricity.
Common household products would not exist if not for Marie Curie. For example, microwaves would not exist. This is because microwaves use a radioactive element to heat up the food within. She led to the invention of exit signs because exit signs light up due to radioactive elements, in a tube, decaying within the sign.
Marie Curie was an amazing scientist that helped discover radioactivity. Her childhood greatly impacted her future carrier. Curie added two new elements to the Periodic Table polonium and radium. Her influence to other countries cannot be ignored because she was the first women to win a Nobel Prize. She also has helped many new medical techniques arise out of her discoveries such as nuclear medication. She died on July 4, 1934 due to leukemia, which is a form of radiation poisoning (Marie Curie Biographical). Marie Curie impacted key parts of society, such as everyday life, Medical techniques, and new cleaner way to achieve energy.