Which scientist discovered the radioactive element Radium?
The Correct answer is Marie and Pierre Curie
Marie Curie (1867–1934) and Pierre Curie (1859–1906) were a pioneering husband-and-wife team in the field of science, particularly in the study of radioactivity. Their groundbreaking work laid the foundation for many developments in physics and chemistry.
Marie Curie:
- Marie Skłodowska Curie was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire).
- She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and remains the only woman to have received Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields: Physics and Chemistry.
- In 1903, Marie Curie, along with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on radioactivity.
- After Pierre's tragic death in 1906, Marie continued their research and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for her discoveries of the elements radium and polonium.
- Marie Curie's contributions went beyond her scientific achievements; she also played a significant role in World War I by using mobile radiography units, or "Little Curies," to provide X-ray services to field hospitals.
Pierre Curie:
- Pierre Curie was born on May 15, 1859, in Paris, France.
- He was a physicist and shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife Marie and Henri Becquerel in 1903 for their collaborative work on radioactivity.
- Pierre Curie made significant contributions to crystallography, demonstrating piezoelectric effects in crystals and studying the magnetic properties of substances at different temperatures.
- Tragically, Pierre Curie died in a street accident in 1906. His death was a great loss to the scientific community, but Marie continued their work.
