Marie Curie - Kathleen Krull [10]
Röntgen refused to patent X-rays for private gain, wanting them to benefit humanity. He later died broke.
Meanwhile, only a few months after Röntgen’s X-ray discovery, a French physicist discovered what appeared to be yet another kind of ray. Henri Becquerel, who came from four generations of illustrious scientists, was studying X-rays and working with uranium. This element had been discovered in 1789 and named for the then-newest planet, Uranus. Becquerel observed that uranium salts, in spite of being wrapped in a protective envelope, left a visible image on a photographic plate. Continuing to experiment, he discovered something really odd—a constant stream of rays were emitted from uranium in all directions. It seemed impossible to measure these rays or to do anything further with them. He assumed he’d reached a dead end.
Röntgen’s X-rays thrilled scientists, especially medical doctors, who leapt on them with great energy. Anyone who has ever broken a bone clearly understands their value. One year after the announcement of his discovery, there were forty-nine books or pamphlets published about X-rays, plus over a thousand papers.
Becquerel’s discovery, on the other hand, caused no such sensation. His rays were mostly ignored. They seemed much the same as X-rays, only weaker. Just a day or so after his discovery, he reported on them to the Monday meeting of the French Academy of Sciences, the most powerful organization for science in France. His colleagues listened, then went to the next item on the agenda. Becquerel himself sort of dropped the ball and drifted for the time being into other areas of research.
Back in the Curie apartment, the nightly discussions were centering on the work of both Röntgen and Becquerel. Marie had published her first article on the magnetism of tempered steels and was casting about for a subject for her doctoral thesis. To earn her doctorate, she had to present original research and make a significant discovery.
Ambitious, enterprising, and always practical, she was attracted to Becquerel’s rays by their very neglect. There was so little work on them—only four other papers besides Becquerel’s own—she could skip that whole business of reading lengthy lists of background material.
And in her estimation, these “uranium rays” were a new phenomenon that deserved attention. She decided to make a systematic investigation. Uranium had a mysterious way of electrifying the air around it—why? What was the effect of these rays, and where did their energy come from? Were the kinds of rays in uranium to be found in other elements as well?
It was quite stimulating—a new area where she could start experimenting immediately and try to discover something interesting. Even something important.
CHAPTER FOUR
Mr. and Mrs. Radioactive
THE BIRTH OF her daughter Irène in September 1897 barely interrupted the flow of Marie’s work. The baby was delivered by Marie’s father-in-law, who reported that she never once cried out during the entire labor. It didn’t seem to occur to either Marie or Pierre that she might give up research for motherhood. Instead, Pierre’s father came to live with them. They also hired a nanny, although according to legend, Marie never missed giving the baby her nightly bath. However, little Irène was much closer to her grandfather. He helped enormously with child care as well as housekeeping. When she was old enough to ask why Marie