106 Radioactivity
nium it contained. She concluded that there must be another substance inside pitchblende
that gave off the extra radiation.
She began each test with 3.5 ounces of pitchblende. She planned to remove all of the
known metals so that ultimately all that would be left would be this new, highly active element. She ground the ore with mortar and pestle, passed it through a sieve, dissolved it in
acid, boiled off the liquid, filtered it, distilled it, then electrolyzed it.
Over the next six months Marie and her husband, Pierre, chemically isolated and tested
each of the 78 known chemical elements to see if these mysterious radioactive rays flowed
from any other substance besides uranium. Most of their time was spent begging for tiny
samples of the many elements they could not afford to buy. Oddly, each time Marie removed more of the known elements, what was left of her pitchblende was always more radioactive than before.
What should have taken weeks, dragged into long months because of their dismal
working conditions. In March 1901, the pitchblende finally gave up its secrets. Marie had
found not one, but two new radioactive elements: polonium (named after Marie’s native Poland) and radium (so named because it was by far the most radioactive element yet discovered). Marie produced a tiny sample of pure radium salt. It weighed .0035 ounces—less
than the weight of a potato chip—but it was a million times more radioactive than uranium!
Because the dangers of radiation were not yet understood, Marie and Pierre were
plagued with health troubles. Aches and pains. Ulcer-covered hands. Continuous bouts of
serious illnesses like pneumonia. Never-ending exhaustion. Finally, the radiation Marie
had studied all her life killed her in 1934.
Fun Facts: Female Nobel Prize laureates accounted for only 34 out of a
total of 723 prizes awarded as of 2005. Marie Curie is not only the first
woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, but also one of four persons to have
been awarded the Nobel Prize twice.
More to Explore
Boorse, Henry, and Lloyd Motz. The Atomic Scientist: A Biographical History. New
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.
Born, Max. Atomic Physics. New York: Dover Publications, 1979.
Dunn, Andrew. Pioneers of Science, Marie Curie. New York: The Bookwright Press,
1991.
Keller, Mollie. Marie Curie: An Impact Biography. New York: Franklin Watts, 1982.
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles,
and Momentous Discoveries. New York: Carol Publishing Group, A Birch Lane
Press Book, 1993.
McKown, Robin. Marie Curie. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1971.
Parker, Steve. Science Discoveries: Marie Curie and Radium. New York:
HarperCollins, 1992.
Quinn, Susan. Marie Curie: A Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Reid, Robert. Marie Curie. New York: Dutton, 1998.