The Life and Accomplishment of Madam Curie: Her Contribution to Science

Marie â€Å"Madame† Sklodowska, also known as Madam Curie, was a French chemist, born November 7, 1987 in Poland. Her early years were know to be sorrowful, losing her mother and a sister, Marie was an early pioneer in the field of radiology, as well as winning two Nobel prizes and founding the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw, she was noted for her diligent work ethic, she turned down food and sleep in order to study. (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) As a child Marie learned to read at four years old, people were amazed with her memory at such a young age. Her father, was a scientist who kept his instruments in a glass case, these instruments intrigued young Marie. Marie, at an early age wanted to become a scientist, but her dream would be difficult to accomplish due to her family being poor. At the age of eighteen, in order for her surviving sister study in Paris, Marie became a governess to help with the financials. In return for helping her elder sister, Bronya financially, Bronya agreed to repay Marie by contributing to the cost of her studies after obtaining her own degree. (inventors. about. om/library/inventors/blMarieCurie. htm) At the age of twenty-four, and with the urging of her sister, Marie moved to Paris to study chemistry and physics at the Sorbonne. With her impressive work in physics Marie managed to win a scholarship, also because of her work she was paid by the Society of Encouragement of National Industry to investigate the magnetic properties of different steels. It was this that led Marie Sklodowska to Pierre Curi e, for her work with metals she needed a lab and Pierre agreed to let Marie use his lab for her work. Pierre had made important discoveries on magnetism and crystals, and with the encouragement of Marie he wrote up his findings and got a Running Head: Life and Accomplishments of Madam Curie doctorate degree which promoted him to a professor. (http://www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) In July of 1895 Marie and Pierre married, Marie completed her research on the magnetic properties of steels two years later. In September of 1897 shortly before giving birth to her daughter Marie submitted her final results on her study. It was after the birth of her daughter Irene; Marie began looking for research that would earn her a doctorate degree, something no other women in the world had completed. It was then that Pierre and Marie together studied radioactive materials, mostly uranium ore pitchblende. This ore strangely was more radioactive than uranium that was extracted from it; by 1898 the two had deduced a logical explanation. This explanation was that the pitchblende contained traces of some unknown component that was radioactive. It was on December 26th 1898 that Marie announced the existence of the new substance; she stated â€Å"I then made the hypothesis that the ores uranium and thorium contain in small quantity a substance much more strongly radioactive than either uranium or thorium. This substance could not be one of the known elements because these had already been examined: it must therefore, be a new element. † (Marie Curie, from Pierre Curie pp. 96-98) (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. tm) Several years passed and Marie and Pierre never stopped their labor, they refined several tons of pitchblende, concentrating the radioactive components, initially isolating the chloride salts and two new elements. They named one of the new elements after Poland, Marie’s native land and the other was named uranium after its radioactivity. With their breakthrough discovery, other scientists did not believe them due to the amount of polonium and radium was so little that it could not see seen or weighed, only their radioactivity made them known. It was then the Running Head: Life and Accomplishments of Madam Curie Curie’s knew they had t separate their elements from their substances they were mixed with, For this they had to continue there work in an abandoned shed near the school. (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) Soon after their move to the shed Industrial Industries helped the Curies by providing additional lab space, raw materials and support staff, thus grew a thriving industry. Radium was used by other scientists for experiments on atoms. This confirmed what Marie had suspected, that the powerful energy showed in radioactivity was a fundamental property of every atom. In 1903 Marie, Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel were all awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, â€Å"in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel† (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) After working in the lab one morning in 1906 Pierre Curie was walking to a library when he slipped and fell into the path of an oncoming heavy horse-drawn wagon. The wagon ran over his head, instantly killing him. After his death Marie was offered his position as professor, no woman before had help such position, and she accepted. In Pierre’s memory Marie decided to establish a scientific institution worthy of such honor, it was with the help of her staff that they persuaded the French government to and privet Pasture Foundation to fund Radium Institute. (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) In 1911 Marie was awarded her second Nobel prize in Chemistry. †in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium m and polonium by the isolation of radiation and the study of the nature and compounds of the Running Head: Life and Accomplishments of Madam Curie emarkable element† Not only was Marie the first female professor of Sorbonne she was also the first woman to receive two Nobel prizes. Some scientists disagreed with Marie winning the prize again, stating that the discovery of the elements were part of the first prize in 1903. Thus saying she had won two prizes for the same discovery, and it was more out of sympathy than anything. This was ignored; most chemists considered that the discovery and isolation of radium was the greatest event in chemistry since the discovery of oxygen. (nobelprize. rg/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/curie/) During the first a World War, most of Marie’s staff had enlisted, so scientific research was forced to halt, so Marie looked for ways she could help with science. She then publishes new uses for mobile radiography units; they would be used for the treatment of wounded soldiers. These mobile units were powered using tubes of radium emanation. This colorless radioactive gas would later be identified as radon. Marie personally milked the radium and filled the tubes. (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) Marie trained women in simple x-ray technology, and was a driver for one of the vans that located metal splinters. And sometimes found herself giving lessons to doctors in geometry. After the war most of her time was spent raising money for the Radium Institute. (nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/curie/) Marie Curie died July 4th 1934 from aplastic pernicious anemia, which is a disorder in which the bone marrow greatly decreases or stops production of blood cells. It’s believed it is almost certainly due to her massive exposure to radiation throughout her work. Her daughter. Running Head: Life and Accomplishments of Madam Curie Irene won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, a year after her mother’s death. Marie’s younger daughter, Eve wrote her biography after her death. (www. spaceandmotion. com/physics-marie-curie-biography. htm) Marie â€Å"Madame† Curie was essential to the discovery of radium and polonium. If it was not for her and her husband Pierre Curie, radiology would not be what it is today. Without her studies who knows how long it would have taken for another scientist to discover the two elements. It is thanks to Marie Curie that we are as far advanced in radiology that we are. References nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/curie/ www.spaceandmotion.com/physics-marie-curie-biography.htm inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blMarieCurie.htm

Motorcycle Diaries Film Exam Essay

The movie Motorcycle Diaries is about to friends Ernesto Guevara who has the nickname â€Å"fuser† and Alberto Granado. Ernesto is a doctor in the process; he has taken a break from his studies to go on a trip, and Alberto is a biochemist. These two friends set off on a journey that starts off in Buenos Aries to travel across the whole region of South America on a motorcycle. From the beginning these two friends have the same idea, to go have fun and just have sex with the beautiful women they come across on the way. With many troubles to come they find themselves with new challenges that they must overcome. Through out the journey they begin to realize that there is more going on through out the world than what is seen by the human eye. Motorcycle diaries showed the neo-colonialist take over of foreign countries and powers. The example that showed this was that of the American mining company: Anaconda mining company. The reason for the American mining company to go to South America was because they can find cheap labor as well as cheap raw materials because the country needs to find a way to enhance its own economic struggles. By finding a country that is in dire need to raise some funds for themselves the companies see a chance to corrupt the deal, whether it being by making child labor, low wages, no benefits, and countless others. It also showed the traditional colonialism because from the anaconda mining company the workers that choose which men they will allow to work place themselves as a higher power so they are creating hierarchies, they are coming from an other country: taking the land to use for their needs, and taking the raw materials from the foreign country to grow for their own nation. It is basically both forms of colonialism combined. In the beginning of the movie Ernesto is only occupied with one thing, to have sex with beauties around South America; he is a sex addict sort of speak. Ernesto being born into a family that is well off has a good house, healthy family, and almost no problems to worry about. In the start of the travel he experiences just mechanical problems with the motorcycle and emotional conflicts with Alberto. When the bike constantly starts to break down they are forced to hitchhike on the back of trucks filled with poor indigenous natives, sees how they have to sleep, how they live and the basic problems of being poor. More through out their travel Ernesto instead of just realizing what is going on with the poor people he begins to care and wonder. While he is in a village he is asked to treat a sick woman even though he takes a look at her and knows that he can not do anything he leaves her medicine to try and help her for at least a little while. He begins to ask everyone he meets what has happened to his or her village and as to him or her as well. While staying with some of the people who are not in the greatest place he reads stories and books written from the poor persons point of view and own experiences. With the care towards the people with the least he starts to join the poor and sick. The first action that leads to this is when he gives his 15 dollars he has received from his ex girlfriend to a homeless and poor couple that has to keep traveling to get work to survive. His final step through the journey was that he joined the people who have close to nothing, in a figurative sense. While at the institute for the sick patients he beings to bond with them even more, starts talking to the sick patients about his personal life and giving them surgeries that will help them recover. He realizes that through out the world there is many boundaries that have been created but not by companies but by mankind themselves. To prove that these boundaries can be broken on the night of his birthday he decides to swim across a huge river separating the sick and the healthy to celebrate with them all; brining them together.