Discovered polonium and radium and won Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry.
Practise Biochemistry, Environment & Industry All Biochemistry, Environment & Industry topics
Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who pioneered research on radioactivity. Working with her husband Pierre Curie, she discovered the elements polonium and radium and coined the term radioactivity to describe the spontaneous emission of radiation from certain atoms. She was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes: the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, shared with Pierre and Henri Becquerel, and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for isolating radium. During the First World War she developed mobile X-ray units. Her long exposure to radiation contributed to the illness that caused her death in 1934.
Key ideas: Polish-French scientist who coined the term radioactivity, discovered polonium and radium (1898) by processing tonnes of pitchblende, and first to win two Nobel Prizes in different sciences (Physics 1903 shared, Chemistry 1911). She showed radioactivity is atomic property, developed mobile X-ray units in World War I. She died in 1934 of aplastic anemia likely from radiation exposure.
Common mistakes and connections: Mistake: giving her Nobel in physics only or thinking she discovered X-rays (Roentgen) or radioactivity itself (Becquerel). Unit curie (3.7 times 10 to the 10 decays per second) honors her family. Her notebooks are still radioactive. Links to radioactive decay, medical isotopes and radiation safety.
Polonium-210, which Marie Curie discovered, has a half-life of 138 days, so its radioactivity decays quickly compared with radium. The interactive lesson shows this as a live animation or chart.
The curie, a unit of radioactivity, is named in honour of Marie and Pierre Curie.
Discovered polonium and radium and won Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry.
Marie Curie is a beginner topic in Biochemistry, Environment & Industry. It needs no earlier chemistry lessons and is a good starting point.
Study these earlier topics in Biochemistry, Environment & Industry first: Alchemy, Lavoisier, Mendeleev.
The next topics in Biochemistry, Environment & Industry are Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Careers in Chemistry.
Yes. The interactive lesson includes a self-check question on Marie Curie, and the Biochemistry, Environment & Industry quiz draws on every topic in this area.
Marie Curie is topic 121 of 127 in Biochemistry, Environment & Industry.
Browse all 127 topics in Biochemistry, Environment & Industry