A few comments on Marie Curie...

 My first exposure to this extraordinary woman, was a ridiculous/wondrously watchable film, starring Greer Garson as Marie, and Walter Pigeon as Pierre Curie (gag).movie.

I loved that bloody movie.  But, as science and historical fact, ummmmmmm, no.

It strikes me as completely disturbing, that this woman is largely forgotten today. Her work in the field of chemistry, in particular, was beyond brilliant, in my humble opinion.  In the late nineteenth century, in the male wonderland of the Sorbonne, she entered that cloistered world with the energy of a supernova.

So, who was she?

Well, here she is:

OK.  So, she isn't Marilyn Monroe. So what.  Just look at this fascinating face!

So...who was this woman? Well, Dear Reader, I am going to tell you about her now.

Marie Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867.  She was the daughter of teacher in the local equivalent of high school. Oddly enough, given the constricted time in which she lived, she was given a liberal education by her father.  He tutored her in the preliminary sciences, and she displayed an early aptitude for both that and mathematics.  I imagine that her ability as a theoretical mathematician must have been evident from an early age.

She grew up in the romantic city of Warsaw, Poland at a time of upheaval, particularly among university students.  Trouble came her way, when she joined a student organization that advocated social upheaval and revolution.  Because of this, she found it necessary to leave Poland, eventually ending up in Paris, and the campus of the Sorbonne Institute.  She arrived there in 1891, where she lodged with her sister.  There she could continue her education.  Marie, a brilliant student, went on to obtain recognition in Physics and Mathematics.  And yet, I think her real genius was evident in her work in chemistry.

It was here that Marie met Pierre Curie, who was a professor in physics.  He was young-ish, and fell in love with her, as indeed her should have!  They were married within the year.  It was at the school of chemistry and physics, that both began working into a recently discovered phenomenon--invisible rays that had recently been discovered by Henri Becqueret.  His work showed how these unknown rays (given off by uranium of course), could reach through solid matter, and could even make a visual impression on photographic paper.

It all began when Marie discovered a mineral known as "pitchblende"--something that contains, among other things, uranium ore. She began working with the pitchblende, somehow figuring out how to measure rays that were emitted by the ore, by using a spectrometer.  Through her research and experimentation with this mineral, she began to isolate certain properties of the material.  Early on in her work, she noticed that the readings emitting from the material were greater than rays coming from uranium alone.  She therefore became convinced that there must be another element causing these readings.  Thus, began her laborious adventure in the land of pitchblende.

She began by grinding up samples of pitchblende, dissolving them by soaking them in acid.  She then started to isolate the separate elements of each example, by using the latest chemical processes.  As you might imagine, this was a time consuming task, taking years instead of months. When she had reduced the pitchblende to a powder, and extracted the uranium, she found that the resultant waves emitting from the powder, were stronger than those of uranium.  This work eventually led to the discovery of a 'new' element. Polonium.  This is what she called it.  Incredibly, this was a brand spanking new element, atomic number 84.

The Curies (for this was truly a joint effort), reduced the powder to a liquid, slowly extracting the polonium.  The material that remained emitted rays//energy stronger than those of  polonium.  This new substance emitted more radioactivity than that of the new element.  The Curies therefore concluded that there must be another, as yet to be discovered, substance.  An incredibly tiny substance.

Thus began the next phase of their work.  Marie took quantities of pitchblende and reduced it to powder by grinding it up by using hand tools.  This, of course Dear Reader, was the beginning of her precarious journey.  Through a process called 'chrystallising,' Marie began the lengthy process of extracting this unknown element.  Eventually, she distilled the pitchblende into a liquid, and it was in this state that she discovered her new physical element. They found that the resultant liquid was 33 times more powerful, than the measurements of polonium.

While the work of extraction was a total drag (taking years), it yielded incredible results. However, unbeknownst to the Curies, working with radium has some bummer side effects, like blistered hands, exhaustion--clearly evidence of the early stages of radiation poisoning.  They kept on working with the dangerous substance, even though they suffered continuous ill health (weird burns on their hands, changes in mood, and general malaise.  Their hands were especially puffy and pretty looking.

There is this totally great scene in the movie, where Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon work for like five years, to reduce, and reduce, and reduce the pitchblende, using the crystallization process.  At last they isolated radium, and the scene I'm remembering, is where they both are waiting at night for the final chrystalization.  At last the process was done, and there is a legend, that the remaining substance at the bottom of the slide was glowing.  Honestly, can you imagine if something like that actually happened? Totally cool. It was also in the movie.  Even though it was schmaltzy, I thought it was a pretty cool movie.  

Oh, yeah, and by the way, you might want to take a look at old Pierre:

I know, not really a babe, but i think he's got a great face.

Anyhow, the year was 1902, and Radium was finally completely isolated and identified conclusively.  In 1903, both of the Curies were awarded the Nobel Prize.  And, did you know, that Marie would go on to be awarded a second Nobel, later in her career? Truly, an impressive woman.  It is amusing to me that she was not given an honorary doctorate based upon the complexity of her work, but in 1903, Marie got her doctorate in physics.  Jesus.  I can barely add.  I mean after all, 24086 - 5 000,000,000 = 3, right? : )

Marie, in this entire process, had zero conceit about the fact that she was the first woman to earn this prestigious honor.  In all honesty, the work was her best reward.  AND, she and Pierre were the first  couple to earn a joint Nobel.  Crap.  I'm completely in awe of these two.  No, I am! Seriously!

She was also the only person to win a Nobel prize in TWO separate scientific fields.

And, in the meantime, she had children!! Two cool gals named Irene and Eve.  Irene especially would do her best to follow Mom's example, and would go onto contribute greatly, to her field.

WOW.  What a woman, yes?

Eventually, she was made professor at the University of Paris, definitely a male-dominated environment.  Are you impressed yet, Dear Reader?

But, you have to recognize the fact that this was an individual with a mind that comes along perhaps once in a generation.

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale. 

 

Isn't she completely bitchin'? 

 

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done

I mean, dude! 

https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/who/our-history/marie-curie-the-scientist#:~:text=%22I%20am%20among%20those%20who,what%20remains%20to%20be%20done.%22

In the midst of all these accolades, tragedy was perhaps inevitable.  In 1906, Pierre Curie was crossing the street, when he was essentially mowed down by a carriage.  A stupid goddamned horse-drawn vehicle.  His skull was crushed under a carriage wheel.  

Grody! (which, for those of you who did not grow up in the 70s, means ewwwwwwwww)

Dear Reader, there simply is no justice in this world, but I am certain you know that.  There is no justice in history.  

So, with Pierre no longer in the picture, you might expect Marie to curl up in a miserable puddle of grief? No.  Her work went on.  She was named director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute--part of the University of Paris, by 1914.

Marie consistently used her discovery, as a way to help those who suffered, in particular, cancer patients.  This, of course, eventually led to practical applications in the medical treatment of cancer--recall, radiation in relation to tumors? 

During WW1, Marie, with her daughter Irene went out into the field in a specially designed ambulance! In this altered car, she had a portable radiation unit, which was used as an early X-ray device.  Dude! What a woman, eh? Eventually, she became director of the Red Cross Radialogical service.  Kinda cool, huh?

OK. OK.  So I'm a Keanu Reeves fan!

I should also say that her technology eventually would provide the basis for the fluoroscapy machine.  What, you may ask Dear Reader does this unpronounceable machine do? This is a high powered device that allows doctors to examine moving images in the human body, like a heart pumping, or when someone swallows.  

What a woman. And her children were also not shy of accomplishments. 

Ok Dear reader, thus end with the lesson!