MARIE CURIE

(Grace Isabel Siahan 230802043)

Marie Curie, was born as maria skłodowska on november 7, 1867 in warsaw, poland.
Marie Curie was a polish-french physicist and chemist best known for her research on
radioactivity. She became the first woman to win a nobel prize, and the only person to
win a nobel prize in two different fields of science.
She was the youngest of five children of the couple władysław skłodowski and
bronisława boguska. Her father was a physics and math teacher, and her mother was a
school principal. Marie grew up in a family that valued education. From a young age,
she showed a remarkable talent for learning. She graduated from high school with a
gold medal at the age of 15. However, at that time, women were not allowed to study
at universities in poland.

To continue her education, marie moved to paris, france, in 1891. She enrolled at the
sorbonne university and studied physics and mathematics. In 1894, marie met pierre
curie, a french physicist who was also interested in research on magnetism. They
married in 1895 and began a remarkable scientific discovery.

In 1896, french physicist henri becquerel discovered that uranium emits radiation.
Marie and pierre curie were intrigued by this phenomenon and began to research it
further. They discovered that the element thorium also emitted radiation, and they
coined the term “radioactivity” to describe this phenomenon.

Marie Curie's interest in the phenomenon of radiation began in 1896, french physicist,
henri becquerel discovered that uranium emits rays that penetrate solid objects or
called radiation and they coined the term “radioactivity” to describe this
phenomenon. He began to conduct systematic studies of various minerals containing
uranium. Marie used highly accurate measurement techniques to measure the
intensity of radiation emitted by various minerals. She found that the intensity of the
radiation did not depend on the shape or chemical state of the uranium, but only on
the amount of uranium present. This led her to the important conclusion that radiation
is an atomic property.

One of the minerals that caught marie's attention was pitchblende, a uranium ore that
turned out to emit radiation more strongly than pure uranium. Marie suspected that
pitchblende contained other elements that were more radioactive than uranium. This
process was very difficult and time-consuming. They had to process tons of
pitchblende under extremely harsh conditions.

Effort does not pay off. So for marie and pierre in july 1898, they succeeded in isolating
a new highly radioactive element, which they named polonium, after marie's home
country, poland. Not end there marie and pierre continue to work hard to isolate other
radioactive elements that they suspect exist in pitchblende. In december 1898, they
announced the discovery of a second element, radium, which turned out to be much
more radioactive than polonium.

In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie, along with Henri Becquerel, were awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of radioactivity. Marie Curie became the
first woman to win a Nobel Prize.In 1911, Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Chemistry for the discovery of the elements polonium and radium. She became the
first and only person to win the Nobel Prize in two different fields of science.

Marie Curie's research on radioactivity has revolutionized the world of science and
medicine. Radioactivity has been used in a variety of applications, including cancer
treatment, medical diagnosis, and nuclear power generation. Radium is currently used
as an anti-tumor drug that works by destroying cancer cells in the bone. In addition,
radium chloride (RaCl2), which produces radon gas, is used in cancer radiotherapy.
No less cool than radium, polonium is also widely used in the field of research. Its
radioactive properties are so strong that polonium can make an object lose its static
electrical properties or called antistatic. In everyday life without realizing it we have
encountered polonium, namely in tobacco (cigarettes) which contains radioctive
materials such as polonium-210 and lead-210. Polonium-210 is a radioactive material
that is very dangerous because it can emit alpha radiation, generally used as an atomic
bomb initiator.

In the last years of her life, Marie began to experience various health problems. She
often felt tired, weak, and suffered from severe headaches. She also suffered from
vision and hearing loss. In 1934, her health deteriorated significantly. She was
diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare condition in which the bone marrow cannot
produce enough new blood cells. The disease was most likely caused by prolonged
exposure to radiation during her years of research. Despite her weakening condition,
Marie continued her research. She even wrote a letter to a friend, saying that she felt
“stronger than ever” and wanted to “work to the end.”

On July 4, 1934, Marie Curie passed away at the age of 66 at the Sancellemoz
sanatorium in Passy, Haute-Savoie, France next to her husband, Pierre Curie, who
had passed away earlier in 1906, at the age of 60. However, her radioactive legacy
did not end with her death. Her body, as well as her possessions, continue to emit
radiation to this day. During her life, Marie Curie worked with radioactive materials,
especially polonium and radium. She often carried tubes of these radioactive elements
in her pocket, and her laboratory was filled with radioactive dust. Without fully
realizing the dangers of radiation, adequate precautions had not yet been developed at
that time.

In 1995, at the initiative of French President François Mitterrand, the remains of

Marie and Pierre Curie were moved to the Panthéon, a national monument in Paris
that serves as the final resting place for prominent French figures. This transfer is the
French state's highest form of respect for their invaluable services to science and
humanity. moving Marie Curie's remains to the Panthéon was no easy matter. Her
body, which was exposed to high levels of radiation during her years of research, still
emits significant radiation. Her coffin was lined with lead to protect the workers
involved in the removal process. When Marie Curie's coffin was opened, scientists
found that her body was still intact, despite decomposition. This was due to her high
radiation exposure, which slowed down the decomposition process. Her laboratory
objects and home tools that were exposed to radiation are stored in lead boxes at the
Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and visitors who wish to see them must sign a waiver
stating that they are aware of the radiation risks and must be equipped with protective
clothing. Marie Curie's residual radioactivity is a powerful reminder of the dangers of
radiation and the sacrifices she made for science. She is a scientific martyr, who has
provided great knowledge from her research.