Gender Barriers! The Life of Marie Curie, Physicist Genius (1867-1934)

Gender Barriers! The Life of Marie Curie, Physicist Genius (1867-1934)

A)

1)

Marie's "greatness points" that led her to become famous in later generations were "winning two Nobel Prizes (one in physics and one in chemistry)" and "discovering Radium."

In 1896, a physicist named Henri Becquerel (1852-1908, French) discovered naturally emitting radiation from uranium.

2)

However, although Becquerel gave the radiation the name "Becquerel radiation," he did not elucidate the details, saying, "I am not sure why it is glowing."

Marie said, "Then I'll figure it out!" So she and her husband, Pierre, set out to study radiation. She and her husband, Pierre, set out to explore it.

3)

They defined the radiation as "radioactive."

They discovered two other radiation elements, polonium, and Radium.

In other words, the term "radioactivity (Radioactive)" was invented by Marie.

B)

4)

In 1903, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marie, her husband Pierre, and Becquerel (jointly) for their "joint work on the phenomenon of radiation discovered by Becquerel."

This was the 1st Nobel Prize awarded.

5)

The second Nobel Prize was awarded to Marie alone.

The British physicist Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) pointed to Marie, "Radium is not an element, but a compound, isn't it?"

6)

Marie spent four years trying to prove that "No, Radium is an element!"

And she spent four years processing eight tons of uranium ore tailings to prove.

In 1910, she succeeded in extracting 0.1 grams of pure Radium.

7)

In 1911, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for "the discovery of Radium and polonium" and for studying the properties of Radium and its compounds.

Marie is the only woman to have won the Nobel Prize twice.

C)

8)

Marie (birth name "Maria Sklodowska") was a Polish national born in Russian-occupied Poland.

However, most of her achievements as a scientist were due to her research in France.

One of the reasons Marie moved from Poland to France was because of a "broken heart."

9)

Surprisingly, Marie moved to Paris because of a broken heart.

Pierre Curie, whom she met in Paris and later became her husband, was a "super research geek."

He was the type of person who was happy as long as all he did was research, so he lived at home even in his mid-30s.

10)

When Marie appeared before him, Pierre was convinced she was the only one for him, and he attacked her fiercely.

He convinced Marie, still job hunting, and they were married.

Pierre's parents were overjoyed at the marriage, saying, "Our son, a research geek, is getting married!"

D)

11)

Another reason Marie moved to France was the "gender barrier."

Even though she was super talented as a child, women were not allowed to study at universities in Poland then.

12)

After moving to France, she struggled tremendously and successfully graduated from the University of Paris.

However, when she returned to Poland and tried to get a job at the university, she was again not hired because she was a woman.

E)

13)

She then returned to Paris and married her husband, Pierre.

She went on to pursue her studies in Paris.

In 1903, she was awarded a doctorate from the University of Paris.

She became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in the same year.

In 1906, she became the first female lecturer at the University of Paris.

In 1908, she became the first woman professor at the University of Paris.

14)

The order of "receive the Nobel Prize, then become a lecturer" seems somewhat strange.

I think, "Maybe there were still more opportunities for women to be active in France than in Poland."

But actually, that was not the case.

15)

In January 1911, she was nominated for the French Academy of Sciences membership.

However, there were no female members in the academy at that time.

It was a perfectly male-dominated society.

16)

She was also challenged based on her nationality and religion: "because she is a woman," "because she is a foreigner," and "because she is not a devout Catholic."

In the end, she was not elected as a member.

Furthermore, Marie, "the celebrity," became the target of gossip.