BIOGRAPHY OF Marie Curie,Marie Curie,Marie Curie: A Life of Sacrifice and Achievement

                                                         

                              BIOGRAPHY OF Marie Curie

Marie CurieMarie Curie’s discoveries in radiation changed the world. She became one of the most important womenin science and her research is still important to scientists and doctors today.She becamethe first person - male or female - to win the Nobel Prize twice. And Marie’s discovery of the element radiumhelped unlock the mysteries of the atom. Yet she came from the most unlikely of circumstances.

Marie Curie showed that through hard workand determination anything is possible. In this week’s Biographics, we meet MarieCurie, scientific pioneer. It was like a new world opened to me, theworld of science BeginningsMaria Salomee Sklodowska was born on November 7th, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. She was the fifth child born to Vladislavand Bronislawa Sklodowska, who were both teachers. Vladislav taught high school physics and mathematics,and although Bronislawa gave birth to five children in eight years and had tuberculosis,she was the full-time director of a private school for girls.

It was only after the birth of Maria thatshe retired. Through a series of bad investments the familyhad lost their savings, requiring them to board at the private school where Bronislawahad taught. This meant that, for the children, there wasno privacy and they had to keep quiet and be on their best behavior at all times. Bronislawa suffered from Tuberculosis. Terrified of passing the lung disease on toher children, she refused to hug them or show any physical affection. When Maria, who was known as Manya, was aroundfive, the family managed to get a place of their own, but they had to take in boardersto make ends meet. Manya didn’t have her own bedroom but hadto sleep on the sofa in the dining room. She had to get up extra early to set the tablefor breakfast. Manya, was fascinated with the instrumentsthat her father, who was a teacher of physics, kept in his little study - especially theelectroscope.

When she started school in 1874, aged six,she was the youngest and the smallest child there. However, she soon proved herself to be amongthe smartest students in her class. She had an excellent memory so she was oftenselected to recite poetry for visitors. This was something that the intensely shygirl detested. Life in Poland was tough during the latterpart of the 19th century. Warsaw was under Russian rule. Laws forbade the speaking of Polish or thelearning of polish history. However, these laws backfired, causing manyPoles, including Manya’s family, to be even more proud of their Polish heritage. Manya dreamed of doing great things and bringinghonor to their country. When Manya was eight, her older sister Zofia,caught typhus fever and died. About two years later, Manya’s mother diedfrom tuberculosis.

The little girl was inconsolable - the twodearest people in her life - her sister and her mother - had been cruelly snatched awayfrom her. Despite her despair, Manya was able to maintaintop grades at school. With the love and support of her father andremaining siblings, she began to dream about an accomplished future. In 1883 she completed her high school education. She was first in her class in every subject. Shortly thereafter, however, she became illwith what she called ‘ fatigue of growth and study.’ She spent a year recovering with relativesin the country. Out in the WorldOn her return, Marya was intent on furthering her education in the sciences. But the Russian government forbade any Polishwomen from attending the University of Warsaw. Maria made a pact with her older sister Bronya.

They would pool their finances so that first,Bronya, and then Marya, could attend the University of Paris. Marya spent the next six years as a governess,which meant that she was little more than a servant to a wealthy family. For three and a half of those years, she livedwith the Zorawski family, sixty miles from Warsaw. She tutored two of the Zorawski children sevenhours a day and was at the family’s beck and call the remainder of the time. With the father’s approval, she also taughtlocal peasant children to read and write, an illegal activity for which she could havebeen severely punished. She used every moment of her precious freetime for study. During this time, Marya also began attendingsecret meetings of the ‘Floating University’. Members read about scientific and other worksthat were banned by the Russians because they thought that they might stir up rebelliousideas. After a year of living with the Zorawski family,Maria met their oldest son, who was home from University. He and Marya, now aged 19, quickly fell inlove. However, the Zorawski’s refused to let theirson marry a poor governess.

The unhappy couple separated, but Marya keptworking for the family because Bronya was depending on her to help pay her way. To get over heartbreak, Marya threw herselfinto her studies. She focused on physics and chemistry. In 1889, her employment with the Zorawski’sended and she moved back to Warsaw where she began working for another family. One of her cousin’s ran Warsaw’s Museumof Industry and Agriculture, which was a lab where Polish students, including Marya, couldstudy science.

The SorbonneBy 1891, Marya had managed to save enough money for her to join Bronya in Paris. It was here that she changed to mMarie, theFrench version of her name. Living with Bronya and her new husband, Marieattended the Sorbonne University. Before long she tired of the commute and movedin to the student area, living in a tiny attic with no proper lighting and only a coal stove. She had very little money, ate poorly, hadto pay for her lessons, and worked long hours in the University library. Yet she found her work so satisfying thatthe hardships were worth it. Marie had to work much harder than her classmatesdue to her limited understanding of the French language. Still, she graduated in 1893, having earneda master’s degree in physics. She also got the top marks in her class. In addition, she won a scholarship, whichallowed her to begin studying for a second degree, this time in mathematics. PierreWhile studying for her mathematics degree, Marie got a job studying the magnetism ofvarious types of steel for a French company. To do the work, however, she needed to finda lab.

A friend introduced her to a man who couldhelp her to do so. His name was Pierre Curie, a teacher and headof the lab at the School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry in Paris. He was already famous for his work with crystalsand magnets. Marie began doing her investigations on thedifferent types of steel as Pierre continued researching the effect of electricity on crystals. No one was more surprised than Curie himself,when he became attracted to Marie. This man of science considered most womento be a waste of space. Yet Marie was different. She was brilliant and she had a deep lovefor science. Instead of wooing her with flowers, Pierreattempted to steal Marie’s heart by giving her an autographed copy of one of his physicspapers. Pierre asked Marie to marry him shortly afterthey met. Marie wanted to say yes, but felt that ifshe did marry Pierre, she would never again live in her beloved Poland. After completing her mathematics degree, shereturned to Warsaw for a holiday, unsure if she would ever go back to Paris. However, she was bombarded with love lettersby Pierre. She finally decided to return in order tocontinue her education and to see Pierre. Marie and Pierre were married on July 26th,1895.

 The ever practical Marie wore a dark bluesuit that she could later wear in the lab. For the next year, she worked in Pierre’slab studying steel and magnetism. In August, 1896 she gave birth to Irene, theirfirst child. Becoming a mother, though, didn’t slow herdown. She decided to earn a doctorate in physicsand needed a new topic to study. She had heard about a French physicist namedHenri Becquerel and his discovery of mysterious uranium rays in 1896. The subject fascinated her and she decidedto make it the focus of her doctorate. Interest in X-RaysIn November, 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist, discovered invisible penetratingrays coming from an electric tube in one of his experiments. He called them x-rays, because he did notknow what they were. They had the ability to pass through fleshand other substances, but not through hard, dense materials like bone and thick metals.

 X-rays and their effects became world famouswithin months. In 1896, the french physicist Henri Becquereldiscovered more kinds of penetrating rays. Unlike Roentgen's, which were made by an electricaleffect, these rays seemed to come naturally from a piece of uranium. Becquerel had left the uranium lying on asealed packet of photographic paper for several days in a drawer, and it caused the paperto mist over. The uranium seemed to produce some kind ofinvisible rays that could pass through the thick black paper. Most scientists ignored Becquerel’s uraniumrays. But not Marie Curie. She threw herself into the study, first systematicallysearching for uranium-type rays coming from other elements. Checking through all 70 elements she foundthat thorium also gave off rays. Next, Marie analyzed rocks that containedmore than one element. As she expected, most of the uranium-typerays were given off by the rocks called pitchblende.

This was because they contained uranium orthorium. But to her surprise, pitchblende gave offmore radiation than she expected. What was causing the extra radiation? The Great DiscoveryAfter checking her results more than twenty times, Maria announced, in July, 1898, thatshe had found a new element. She named it Polonium after her beloved Poland. At the same time she invented the word ‘radioactive’to describe polonium, uranium and thorium. Then, in December 1898, Marie announced thediscovery of another new, even more radioactive, element - radium. But years of work lay ahead. Marie and Pierre had to prove to fellow scientiststhat polonium and radium existed. To do this, they had to produce the two elementsin their purest forms, find the weight of the atoms, and show that each element hasan atomic weight different from any other element’s. But their first focus was to produce pureradium.

To do this they needed two things - lots ofpitchblende and a large lab. The pitchblende came from a mine in Austriaand the Curie’s were able to buy it up very cheaply. Finding lab space was harder. The only room available was a cold, leakyshed near Pierre’s work, but it gave them the sauce they needed. Marie had to melt pitchblende in huge potsand stir it with a steel rod almost as tall as he was. Despite her hard work, she was determinedto discover all she could about radioactivity. Between 1900 and 1903, Marie published manypapers on her work. During this period she was also completingher doctoral degree and trying to produce pure radium. As if that wasn’t enough, in October, 1900,she began teaching at a teacher’s college in Sevres, a Parisian suburb. And, of course, she was raising her daughterIrene. On July 21st, 1902, Marie finally reportedthe weight of one radium atom - this was a major breakthrough. Because the weight of the radium atom wasdifferent from the atomic weight of any other element, it proved that Marie had discovereda new element. Marie and Pierre could have become rich byclaiming all rights to working with radium. Instead, they shared their information, tellinghow they’d purified the element, and more.

They believed scientific research should benefiteveryone. AccoladesIn June, 1903, Marie became the first woman in Europe to receive a doctorate in science. But, as the fame of the uber science couplegrew, their physical health began to deteriorate. Pierre was constantly tired and in pain. Marie was also in a constant state of exhaustion. She had recently had a miscarriage and hadlost a lot of weight. They both suffered from burnt, numb fingertips. We now know that they were suffering fromthe effects of radiation exposure. At the time, radium was being touted for itshealth benefits. Because it could kill healthy tissue, doctorstested it on diseased cells and found it also destroyed them. Soom radium was being used to stop cancercells from growing in patients with cancer. The new treatment was called ‘Curietherapy.’ In November , 1903 Marie and Pierre were giventhe Humphry Davy Medal, England’s highest award in chemistry. But the greatest accolade came a month later,when they, along with Henri Becquerel, won the Nobel Prize for Physics. The Nobel Prize came with a substantial cashprice.

This allowed the Curie’s, for the firsttime, to hire a lab assistant. Now reporters and visitors wanted to meetthe famous scientific couple. Some eager reporters even attempted to interviewthe Curie’s young daughter, Irene. Nobel Prize winners had to travel to Swedento receive their award and speak about their work. But Marie was too ill to go.It wasn’t until1905 that she was able to make the trip. The couple’s feelings about the prize weremixed. Marie was proud of her work and her accomplishmentof being the first woman to achieve world fame as a scientist. The prize money also helped to fund theirresearch, which they had so far been paying out of their own pocket. But they disliked the fame, which interferedwith their work. In 1904, Marie gave birth to a second daughter,Eve. Shortly thereafter Pierre was made a professorat the Sorbonne. He was given a better laboratory and Mariewas paid as his chief assistant. The next year he was elected to the Academyof Sciences. TragedyFor two years, things went well for the Curies. They were finally comfortable financiallyand were respected leaders in their field. Then in April,1906 tragedy struck. They had just enjoyed a relaxed weekend inthe country and we're back in a rainy Paris. A rushed off his feet Pierre was running errandsin the rain when he stepped out to cross the road and fell in front of a horse drawn wagon. The startled horse reared up.

It’s hooves missed Pierre but the rear wheelscrushed his skull. He was killed instantly. When word spread that a famous scientist hadbeen killed, the crowd had to be stopped from attacking the innocent driver. Marie didn’t hear about the tragedy untilshe returned home that night. She was devastated by her husband's death. However, she remembered what he had once toldher . . . Whatever happens, even if one should becomelike a body without a soul, still one must work. So, when she was offered her husband’s jobat the Sorbonne, she accepted. Before her first class, reporters, studentsand curious people crowded the hall to see the first female teacher at the institute. They wondered if she would praise her husband- or break down under the strain. Instead, she began quietly speaking - pickingup at the very spot where Pierre had left off during his last lecture. One of Marie's deepest regrets was that Pierrehad died without ever having his own permanent lab. It gave her great satisfaction when, in 1909,plans were begun to establish the Radium Institute in Paris. It would have a laboratory that Marie wouldsupervise, to be called the Curie Pavilion. Pure RadiumWorking as hard as ever, Marie noted that Lord Kelvin, a Scottish physicist, had suggestedthat radium was not an element, since it had been found to give off helium gas, which isitself an element. She continued to make even purer poloniumand radium.

By 1910 she had produced pure radium, andshowed that it was a brilliant-white metal. She even found its melting , 700 degrees celsius. In 1910, Marie also published her 971-pagework Treatise on Radioactivity. In 1911 came another great honor - the NobelPrize for Chemistry, awarded to her alone, for making pure radium. In 1911, Radiology Congress, an internationalgroup of radiation scientists, decided they needed a new unit of measurement for radiation- they called it the ‘Curie’. Marie insisted that she was the only one whocould take on the task of working out the exact size of a curie unit. It was painstaking work, but she did it inPierre’s honor. In 1911, Marie failed to be elected to theFrench Academy of Sciences. Many people said that it was simply becauseshe was a woman - her scientific work was of the highest quality. Her personal life was followed by the newspapers,andthere was great interest in her friendship with physicist colleague Paul Langevin, whohad left his wife.

 Extremely upset, Marie fell ill. After treatment she stayed with her friendHertha Ayrton in England. By 1914, the Radium Institute at the Universityof Paris was finished. The same year, World War One began. Marie threw herself into the war effort. She organized x-ray equipment for hospitalsto help them locate bullets and shrapnel in the wounds of injured soldiers. She also set up a course to train people inthe use of radiography units. At war’s end in 1918, Marie became Directorof the Paris Radium Institute. The Institute became a world center for radiationphysics and chemistry. In 1920, Marie became friends with Marie Maloney,an American journalist. Maloney helped to improve Curie’s publicimage, and planned to raise money for the Radium Institute by a lecture tour of theUSA. Although her hearing and sight were failing,she carried out part of the tour before illness forced her to return to France.

Many universities awarded her special degrees,and the Women of America gave her one gram of radium, worth a hundred thousand dollars,in recognition of her work and achievements as a woman scientist. In 1922, she was at last elected to the FrenchAcademy of Medicine. The DeclineIn the early 1920’s scientists finally realized the dangers of radiation. People working with radioactive material begantaking precautions. But it was too late for Marie. Her work with radiation probably caused thecataracts in her eyes that now threatened her with blindness. She had four operations to remove the cataractsbut wanted no one to know - she didn’t want people thinking she was old and helpless. Marie continued to oversee the work in herown labs in Paris. She also travelled to raise funds for researchby younger scientists.

 In 1928, she had a final operation for cataracts. She was cared for by her daughter Eve. After further illness, she died on July 4th,1934, at Sancellemoz, Switzerland, as a result of aplastic anemia, a lack of red blood cells,caused by long exposure to radiation. Marie’s legacy lived on in her daughterIrene. In 1935, her and her husband, Frederic, receivedthe Nobel Prize for chemistry. In 1995, Marie and Pierre were reburied inthe Pantheon in Paris. She is the first woman given that honor basedon her own achievements.