Maria Sklodowska-Curie
Curie - kürēˈ, family of French scientists. Pierre Curie, 1859–1906, scientist, and his wife, Marie Sklodowska Curie, 1867–1934, chemist and physicist, b. Warsaw, are known for their work on radioactivity and on radium. The Curies' daughter Irène (see under Joliot-Curie, family) was also a scientist.
Pierre Curie's early work dealt with crystallography and Read More...
Curie - kürēˈ, family of French scientists. Pierre Curie, 1859–1906, scientist, and his wife, Marie Sklodowska Curie, 1867–1934, chemist and physicist, b. Warsaw, are known for their work on radioactivity and on radium. The Curies' daughter Irène (see under Joliot-Curie, family) was also a scientist. Pierre Curie's early work dealt with crystallography and with the effects of temperature on magnetism; he discovered (1883) and, with his brother Jacques Curie, investigated piezoelectricity (a form of electric polarity) in crystals. Marie Sklodowska's interest in science was stimulated by her father, a professor of physics in Warsaw. In 1891 she went to Paris to continue her studies at the Sorbonne. In 1895 she married Pierre Curie and engaged in independent research in his laboratory at the municipal school of physics and chemistry where Pierre was director of laboratories (from 1882) and professor (from 1895). Following A. H. Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity, Mme Curie began to investigate uranium, a radioactive element found in pitchblende. In 1898 she reported a probable new element in pitchblende, and Pierre Curie joined in her research. They discovered (1898) both polonium and radium, laboriously isolated one gram of radium salts from about eight tons of pitchblende, and determined the atomic weights and properties of radium and polonium. The Curies refused to patent their processes or otherwise to profit from the commercial exploitation of radium. For their work on radioactivity they shared with Becquerel the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. The Sorbonne created (1904) a special chair of physics for Pierre Curie; Marie Curie was appointed his successor after his death in a street accident. She also retained her professorship (assumed in 1900) at the normal school at Sèvres and continued her research. In 1910 she isolated (with André Debierne) metallic radium. As the recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry she was the first person to be awarded a second Nobel Prize. She was made director of the laboratory of radioactivity at the Curie Institute of Radium, established jointly by the Univ. of Paris and the Pasteur Institute, for research on radioactivity and for radium therapy. During World War I, Mme Curie devoted her energies to providing radiological services for hospitals. In 1921 a gram of radium, a gift from American women, was presented to her by President Harding; this she accepted in behalf of the Curie Institute. A second gram, presented in 1929, was given by Mme Curie to the newly founded Curie Institute in Warsaw. Five years later she died from the effects of radioactivity. In 1995 Marie and Pierre Curie's ashes were enshrined in the Panthéon, Paris; she was the first woman to be honored so in her own right. Among the numerous and valuable writings of the Curies are Marie Curie's doctoral dissertation, Radioactive Substances (1902, 2 vol.; tr. 1961); Traité de radioactivité (1910); Radioactivité (1935); and her biography of Pierre Curie (1923, tr. 1923). Pierre Curie's collected works appeared in 1908. A biography of Marie Curie was written by a daughter, Ève Curie (tr. 1937). See also biographies by R. W. Reid (1974), F. Giroud (tr. 1986), S. Quinn (1995), and B. Goldsmith (2004). The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2007, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved. |
Maria Sklodowska-Curie
-
1.
-
2.
-
3.
100 Most Popular Scientists for Young Adults: Biographical Sketches and Professional Paths ("Marie Curie, 'A New Age of Science'" begins on p. 136)
by Kendall Haven, Donna Clark. 528 pgs.
-
4.
Great Physicists: The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking (Chap. 20 "Opening Doors: Marie Curie")
by William H. Cropper. 500 pgs.
Here is a lively history of modern physics, as seen through the lives of thirty men and women from the pantheon of physics. William H. Cropper vividly portrays the life and accomplishments of such giants as Galileo and Isaac Newton, Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, right up to contemporary figures such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, and Stephen Hawking. We meet scientists--all geniuses--who could be gregarious, aloof, unpretentious, friendly, dogged, imperious, generous to colleagues or contentious rivals. As Cropper captures their personalities, he also offers vivid portraits of their great moments of discovery, their bitter feuds, their relations with family and friends, their religious beliefs and education. In addition, since scientists in a particular field often inspire those who follow, Cropper has grouped these biographies by discipline--mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics, and so on--each section beginning with a historical overview. Thus in the section on quantum mechanics, readers can see how the work of Max Planck influenced Niels Bohr, and how Bohr in turn influenced Werner Heisenberg. By sequencing the biographies in this way, Cropper gives us an overall portrait of each field. Our understanding of the physical world has increased dramatically in the last four centuries, starting with Galileo and his telescope and stretching to Stephen Hawking's work on black holes and cosmology. With Great Physicists, readers can retrace the footsteps of the men and women who led the way.
-
5.
A Century of Nobel Prizes Recipients: Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine ("Curie-Sklodowska, Marie" begins on p. 121)
by Francis Leroy. 380 pgs.
Celebrating a century of revolutionary contributions to our understanding of life, the world, and the universe, this encyclopedic desk reference traces the discoveries that earned nearly 500 distinguished scientists Nobel honors in the areas of chemistry, physics, and medicine. This book includes over 550 full color illustrations and photographs, and, set out in itsnbsp;appealing andnbsp;easy-to-use format, it is a must for the library of any public, university, business, or personal library.
-
6.
Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary ("Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934)" begins on p. 62)
by Benjamin F. Shearer, Barbara S. Shearer. 484 pgs.
Notable Women in the Physical Sciences features substantive biographical essays on 96 world and American women scientists who have made significant contributions to the physical sciences from antiquity to the present. The essays go beyond basic facts found in standard biographical dictionaries, bringing to life the women's developmental influences, the obstacles they faced and overcame, and their efforts to contribute in their chosen professions in spite of sometimes overwhelming disapproval by the establishment. The emphasis is on 20th-century women, and many of the living scientists profiled contributed interviews and autobiographical statements, that add a vital and unique element to their profiles. Entries have been written by 70 practicing scientists and researchers who explain the scientific work clearly, in terms familiar to general readers and high school students.
-
7.
The Flash of Genius ("The Discovery of Polonium and Radium" by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie begins on p. 126)
by Alfred B. Garrett. 249 pgs.
Search the entire Questia Library for more on: Maria Sklodowska-Curie
Maria Sklodowska-Curie - Related Topics
Visitors researching Marie Curie also searched on:
$9.95
(One-time charge)
Questia Media and its affiliates. Any advertising or navigational links included on this site are not necessarily
endorsed by the publishers or content providers whose materials appear on this site.