CHAPTER ONE PRIZE-WINNING RESEARCH Marie Curie sat at the Royal Institute in London England The Polish-born resident of France was a brilliant scientist She watched as her husband Pierre gave a lecture It was June 1903 As a woman Marie was not allowed to present her work Instead she listened as Pierre talked about their shared research Marie and Pierre Curie worked together to study radiation and its effects 5
The Curies daughter Irene was born in 1897 The Royal Society had invited the couple This scientific group held a popular lecture series The theater was packed Marie sat in the front row The Curies were famous for their work with radium They had discovered this element in 1898 Pierre’s talk included a demonstration He showed how radium glowed He showed how it could affect other objects Radium released invisible energy Pierre showed the audience his arm It was burned 6
from touching radium He told the crowd radium might be used to treat cancer He showed it could damage healthy tissue in a body He hoped it could do the same to unhealthy tissue PERSPECTIVES In Poor Health Pierre’s lecture for the Royal Society was a success But it was not without challenges Pierre could not tie his necktie His hands shook on stage He spilled some of the radium Pierre’s fumbling fingers were the result of his work with radium It had damaged his hands It had made him sick and exhausted The Curies did not realize how dangerous radiation was The lecture hall later had to be cleaned Choosing Radioactivity The Curies work with radium went back several years It began with Marie’s college research Marie enrolled at the Sorbonne in 1891 This school is in Paris France It was one of the world’s first universities Marie studied physics and math She earned master’s degrees in both subjects 7
