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Radioactive Substances
In 1911, Marie Curie received the Nobel prize in chemistry for isolating radium. This profound distinction literally cost the scientist her life, for she ultimately died from exposure to the deadly rays from the element she and her husband discovered. Here is her story, recounted in her own words, of the momentous discovery and her further investigation of radioactive substances. Born in Poland in 1867, Marie Sklodowska enrolled at the Sorbonne after the University of Warsaw refused her admission because of her gender. There she not only earned her master's degree and doctorate in physics but also became the first woman faculty member in the school's history. In this memoir, she recounts the struggles and triumphs of a life dedicated to the study of science, in a tale whose truth makes it more gripping and poignant than any fiction.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
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About the author
Marie Curie
70 books201 followersMarie Curie (born Maria Skłodowska; also known as Maria Skłodowska-Curie) was a physicist and chemist of Polish upbringing and, subsequently, French citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first and only person honored with Nobel Prizes in two different sciences, and the first female professor at the University of Paris.
She was born in Warsaw, Vistulan Country, Russian Empire, and lived there until she was 24. In 1891 she followed her elder sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she obtained her higher degrees and conducted her scientific work. She founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw. She was the wife of fellow-Nobel-laureate Pierre Curie and the mother of a third Nobel laureate, Irène Joliot-Curie.
While an actively loyal French citizen, she never lost her sense of Polish identity. Madame Curie named the first new chemical element that she discovered (1898) "polonium" for her native country, and in 1932 she founded a Radium Institute (now the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology) in her home town, Warsaw, headed by her physician-sister Bronisława.
She was born in Warsaw, Vistulan Country, Russian Empire, and lived there until she was 24. In 1891 she followed her elder sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she obtained her higher degrees and conducted her scientific work. She founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw. She was the wife of fellow-Nobel-laureate Pierre Curie and the mother of a third Nobel laureate, Irène Joliot-Curie.
While an actively loyal French citizen, she never lost her sense of Polish identity. Madame Curie named the first new chemical element that she discovered (1898) "polonium" for her native country, and in 1932 she founded a Radium Institute (now the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology) in her home town, Warsaw, headed by her physician-sister Bronisława.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 12, 2013
Here presented is the doctoral thesis of Marie Sklodowska Curie who was awarded a 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics and later another Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. She is most recognised for her scientific work and research in radioactivity...
This thesis was presented to the Faculté de Sciences de Paris in 1903.
Her work can be downloaded here: http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book...
This thesis was presented to the Faculté de Sciences de Paris in 1903.
Her work can be downloaded here: http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book...
February 1, 2018
Unquestionably the name Madame Curie is legendary. But how exactly does a thirtysomething, turn of the century scientist discover radium and polonium? Radioactive Substances is the PhD thesis of Marie Skłodowska Curie’s research at the Sorbonne. An intellectually and scientifically intimidating read, however it’s worth the endeavor. Mme Curie recounts each experiment and her finding with illuminating detail. Subsequent to reading this insightful thesis, one is able to grasp at just how groundbreaking Mme Curie’s work truly was.
September 25, 2008
Probably a tough read for a non-scientist, because it's basically her thesis. Really interesting and really cool how she figured out that she had a new element on her hands.
November 28, 2020
This thesis was very different from those I am accustomed to read. First of all, it read much more like a review paper rather than having the very narrow focus of the typical doctoral thesis. Along the same lines, it contained references to work from other scientists throughout it's entire length rather than just in the introduction. In this regard, I think it can give current students a good example of writing to fully explain their mastery of their subject and their contribution to their field including where their own work fits in and how it is differentiated from the work of other scientists. This shows, not only a mastery of the subject, but also an interest in the subject, an enthusiasm to communicate it to others, and a willingness to write more than the minimum technically necessary for a thesis.
Madame Curie also lists a prodigious amount of research that she had worked on with her husband and Dr. Becquerel, many parts of which (including discovering new elements and developing chemical processes to extract them from large quantities mining waste) could have constituted excellent theses in themselves.
Overall, this work is a good summary of what was known about radioactivity at the time (which was actually a surprising amount), including the clever methods used for discovering this knowledge, and the whole is written in such a way as to be quite readable to anyone with a basic background in modern physics, electricity, and the terminology of the time period.
Madame Curie also lists a prodigious amount of research that she had worked on with her husband and Dr. Becquerel, many parts of which (including discovering new elements and developing chemical processes to extract them from large quantities mining waste) could have constituted excellent theses in themselves.
Overall, this work is a good summary of what was known about radioactivity at the time (which was actually a surprising amount), including the clever methods used for discovering this knowledge, and the whole is written in such a way as to be quite readable to anyone with a basic background in modern physics, electricity, and the terminology of the time period.
June 9, 2024
As a Doctorate in Biochemistry myself, I found this thesis fantastically refreshing and wish that modern day science writing adopted the old ways.
Madame Curie is able to very succinctly express all results, methodologies and discuss its implications in a very straightforward way.
For me, this thesis is a time capsule for how radioactivity was understood before it was understood. At times, Curie attempts to provide answers to such a complex enigma without all current knowledge of radioactive materials and advances in quantum physics, and is able to do so very satisfactorily.
Curie had good feelings about the nature of subatomic matter, and that is visible from her inferences.
I found it particularly funny how she nonchalantly describes measuring radioactivity both at midday and midnight in order to assess if radiation from the sun was the primary source of radioactive induction in radium. Although anecdotal, it provides a good glimpse of how us scientists may attempt the most simple (and sometimes, ridiculous) experiments just to understand these "black hole enigmas" where nothing is known and the little we know is confusing.
Madame Curie is able to very succinctly express all results, methodologies and discuss its implications in a very straightforward way.
For me, this thesis is a time capsule for how radioactivity was understood before it was understood. At times, Curie attempts to provide answers to such a complex enigma without all current knowledge of radioactive materials and advances in quantum physics, and is able to do so very satisfactorily.
Curie had good feelings about the nature of subatomic matter, and that is visible from her inferences.
I found it particularly funny how she nonchalantly describes measuring radioactivity both at midday and midnight in order to assess if radiation from the sun was the primary source of radioactive induction in radium. Although anecdotal, it provides a good glimpse of how us scientists may attempt the most simple (and sometimes, ridiculous) experiments just to understand these "black hole enigmas" where nothing is known and the little we know is confusing.
June 18, 2025
Another great Librivox recording by Availle. This is Marie Curie's thesis on radioactivity and is a great view into how it came to be understood. An excellent snapshot of science in progress and still very readable. She describes the apparatus used and difficulties in measuring radioactivity and discusses why radiation is likely to be an atomic and not chemical property. She examines the absorption properties of alpha, beta, gamma rays, but there is a lot of comparison to Becquerel rays, Roentgen rays, cathode rays, etc. that show it was still being understood.
Her extraction of radium and polonium was done using the industrial processing of tons of pitch blend from mining operations. Radium was the easier to track due to its clear spectrum and strong radioactivity. Then she discusses the effect of radium on skin (it burns) and potential use in medicine. Followed by a discussion of induced radioactivity in liquids, air, wax and other substances that follows an exponential decay Law of Dissipation. And finally she discusses how radium salts lose radioactivity during heating, and then subsequently have increased radioactivity following cooling.
Her extraction of radium and polonium was done using the industrial processing of tons of pitch blend from mining operations. Radium was the easier to track due to its clear spectrum and strong radioactivity. Then she discusses the effect of radium on skin (it burns) and potential use in medicine. Followed by a discussion of induced radioactivity in liquids, air, wax and other substances that follows an exponential decay Law of Dissipation. And finally she discusses how radium salts lose radioactivity during heating, and then subsequently have increased radioactivity following cooling.
May 28, 2022
3.75
Listened to it on LibriVox.
Pretty interesting, though I couldn't avoid thinking about the physical repercussions of some of the things that were described.
I have to compliment the Reader, Availle concerning her performance.
Listened to it on LibriVox.
Pretty interesting, though I couldn't avoid thinking about the physical repercussions of some of the things that were described.
I have to compliment the Reader, Availle concerning her performance.
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September 18, 2018good
February 24, 2023
I love science!!!
October 1, 2024
Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crF4p...
March 12, 2015
Ini bacaan yang sangat berbobot. Perlu pemahaman sains yang memadai untuk mengerti isinya (aku bukan tipe seperti itu, jadi aku lewatkan beberapa paragraf yang memusingkan). Tulisan ini membuka pemikiran bahwa sains adalah kerja keras, bukan sekedar pemikiran teoritis.
Para ilmuwan besar yang disebut dalam buku teks memang benar-benar hebat. Sebabnya adalah mereka menggunakan metode dan pendekatan baru dalam berpikir. Memahami hal baru dan revolusioner bukan hal yang mudah. Elemen radioaktif dipelajari secara intensif oleh Curie berdasarkan hasil kerja ilmuwan lain. Sinergi seperti itu menghasilkan penemuan yang luar biasa.
Pernah membayangkan bahwa untuk memperoleh beberapa gram sampel Barium, Curie harus melebur hingga 80kg mineral? Beberapa instrumen yang terdapat dalam buku ini tentu sudah ketinggalan zaman. Namun pada awal abad 20, instrumen tersebut mampu mengukur besaran penting dalam rangka menentukan sifat radioaktif. Rumus-rumus dan formula yang ditemui dalam buku teks diperoleh lewat percobaan yang rumit. Itulah yang membuatku menghargai karya ini.
Lihat semua review buku di blog saya, Kompilasi Perkara Yogi Saputro
Para ilmuwan besar yang disebut dalam buku teks memang benar-benar hebat. Sebabnya adalah mereka menggunakan metode dan pendekatan baru dalam berpikir. Memahami hal baru dan revolusioner bukan hal yang mudah. Elemen radioaktif dipelajari secara intensif oleh Curie berdasarkan hasil kerja ilmuwan lain. Sinergi seperti itu menghasilkan penemuan yang luar biasa.
Pernah membayangkan bahwa untuk memperoleh beberapa gram sampel Barium, Curie harus melebur hingga 80kg mineral? Beberapa instrumen yang terdapat dalam buku ini tentu sudah ketinggalan zaman. Namun pada awal abad 20, instrumen tersebut mampu mengukur besaran penting dalam rangka menentukan sifat radioaktif. Rumus-rumus dan formula yang ditemui dalam buku teks diperoleh lewat percobaan yang rumit. Itulah yang membuatku menghargai karya ini.
Lihat semua review buku di blog saya, Kompilasi Perkara Yogi Saputro
April 6, 2016
This was a very interesting book, very easy to follow (I'm not a science person didn't take any chemistry classes in HS or college). With the aid of the dictionary and internet, I was able to decipher any words or processes that weren't familiar. As for the book it was very interesting to learn a little more about radium and thorium along with the other radioactive materials and how the experiments were administered and the scientific finds.
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July 17, 2013Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews