Ep. 162: Marie Curie – Top 6 Achievements
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode is on a lady that has won the Nobel Prize twice in two separate fields, and of course, we are talking about the most famous female scientist in history, Marie Curie.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1867, Marie Curie had education in her blood with both her parents being teachers, with her father actually lecturing in physics and mathematics which Marie pursued herself. Due to educational limitations for women in Poland Marie moved to Paris to pursue higher education at the University of Paris. She earned degrees in physics and mathematics and ultimately met the love of her life Pierre Curie.
They worked assiduously together and by 1903 they collectively won the Nobel Prize in physics. Marie then went on to win another in 1911 in chemistry for her work on radioactivity.
She was the first person to become a professor at the University of Paris and she has founded the medical research centres, the Curie Institute in Paris in 1920, and the Curie Institute in Warsaw in 1932.
She is a beacon to scientific excellence and through her life’s story is an inspiration to not only scientists but people all around the world.
Today’s mnemonic will be on Marie Curie’s top 6 achievements.
So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie[a] (Polish: [ˈmarja salɔˈmɛa skwɔˈdɔfska kʲiˈri] ⓘ; née Skłodowska; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie (/ˈkjʊəri/ KURE-ee;[1] French: [maʁi kyʁi]), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.
She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize, making them the first married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.[2]
She was born in Warsaw, in what was then the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. She studied at Warsaw's clandestine Flying University and began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24, she followed her elder sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work.
In 1895, she married the French physicist Pierre Curie, and she shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with him and with the physicist Henri Becquerel for their pioneering work developing the theory of "radioactivity"—a term she coined.[3][4] In 1906, Pierre Curie died in a Paris street accident. Marie won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements polonium and radium, using techniques she invented for isolating radioactive isotopes.
Under her direction, the world's first studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms by the use of radioactive isotopes. She founded the Curie Institute in Paris in 1920, and the Curie Institute in Warsaw in 1932; both remain major medical research centres. During World War I, she developed mobile radiography units to provide X-ray services to field hospitals.
While a French citizen, Marie Skłodowska Curie, who used both surnames,[5][6] never lost her sense of Polish identity. She taught her daughters the Polish language and took them on visits to Poland.[7] She named the first chemical element she discovered polonium, after her native country.[b]
Marie Curie died in 1934, aged 66, at the Sancellemoz sanatorium in Passy (Haute-Savoie), France, of aplastic anaemia likely from exposure to radiation in the course of her scientific research and in the course of her radiological work at field hospitals during World War I.[9] In addition to her Nobel Prizes, she received numerous other honours and tributes; in 1995 she became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Paris Panthéon,[10] and Poland declared 2011 the Year of Marie Curie during the International Year of Chemistry. She is the subject of numerous biographical works.
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie]
Mnemonic
Marie Curie – Top 6 Achievements Mnemonic – Deathly CCOFF
(Picture Marie Curie in her lab with a deathly cough caused by all the radioactive material she is working with)
1. Discovery of the elements polonium and radium
2. Coined the term “radioactivity”
3. Curie family has won five Nobel Prizes
4. Only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields
5. First woman to become a professor at the University of Paris
6. First woman to win a Noble Prize
Five Fun Facts
1. Marie Curie’s first hurdle was actually getting an education. She was born in 1867 and grew up in Russian-controlled Poland, where women were not allowed access to higher education. She and her elder sister Bronisława attended a “Flying University” as young women, educating themselves in secret at a school that continually changed location to avoid detection. Following this Marie then worked as a governess to support her elder sister to study medicine in Paris with the agreement her sister would then support her to do the same thing a few years later.
2. Marie Curie won her first Nobel Prize in 1903. But she wasn’t alone sharing the award for physics with her husband Pierre Curie and physicist Henri Becquerel. Initially, the award panel were not even going to nominate Marie for the award. It wasn’t until Pierre Curie wrote to the Nobel Prize committee and convinced them of Marie’s contribution and importance.
3. Just eight years later in 1911 Curie won her second Nobel Prize. This time she won the prestigious award in chemistry for the isolation of Radium. Unfortunately, and tragically, she couldn’t share this with her husband as in 1906 Pierre Curie slipped and fell under a heavy horse-drawn wagon where he was killed instantly.
4. Marie Curie started a dynasty of Nobel Prizes in the family. As mentioned, Marie won two Nobel Prizes, one in Physics and the other in chemistry. Her husband Pierre shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. While Curie’s daughter Irene who received her doctorate in 1925 also won a Nobel Prize jointly with her husband Frederic in 1935 in Chemistry for the breakthroughs they had made in the synthesis of new radioactive elements.
5. Marie Curie died in 1934 of aplastic anaemia. This is likely due to radiation exposure from working with Radium, however many believe that it was more so from the exposure to X-rays whilst she was running a mobile X-ray unit during World War I. Marie’s notebooks are stored in lead-lined boxes in France due to radioactivity. So, if you wish to view these documents, they should be reasonably safe in 1,600 years if you only want 50% of the current radioactivity!
Now, believe it or not, I actually have a story about Marie Curie that has been passed down from my great, great, grandfather who actually dated Marie Curie when she was studying in Paris. Apparently, the story goes that he was initially really attracted to her glowing spirit and radiant personality. But sadly, due to her work commitments, their relationship became toxic!
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Three Question Quiz
Q.1. What was the first new element to be discovered by the Curies’?
Q.2. What was Marie Curie’s major at university?
Q.3. What were “Little Curies” during World War I? Options are Alcoholic drinks with a dash of Radium, Trucks with X-ray machines, or a circular rash on the skin
Bonus Q. Marie Curie developed radiation for the use of what medical purpose?
Mnemonic Recap
Marie Curie – Top 6 Achievements Mnemonic – Deathly CCOFF
(Picture Marie Curie in her lab with a deathly cough caused by all the radioactive material she is working with)
1. Discovery of the elements polonium and radium
2. Coined the term “radioactivity”
3. Curie family has won five Nobel Prizes
4. Only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields
5. First woman to become a professor at the University of Paris
6. First woman to win a Noble Prize
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. What was the first new element to be discovered by the Curies’?
A. Polonium in 1898
Q.2. What was Marie Curie’s major at university?
A. Physics
Q.3. What were “Little Curies” during World War I? Options are Alcoholic drinks with a dash of Radium, Trucks with X-ray machines, or a circular rash on the skin
A. Trucks with X-ray machines
Bonus Q. Marie Curie developed radiation for the use of what medical purpose?
A. For use in X-rays and also cancer treatment. And interestingly it was also used for a number of other ailments which was not that wise retrospectively, as well as being in toothpaste and face creams
Word of the Week
olid
[ oh-lid ]
adjective
foul-smelling
Example
While working in her lab Marie Curie would always leave the windows open to remove the olid, toxic gas.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/marie-curie-facts
https://www.ducksters.com/biography/quiz/marie_curie_questions.php