1898 Curie, Marie

Who is Marie Curie?

Marie Curie born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland was a Polish-French physicst and chemist who discovered Radium and Polonium. Marie Curie was the first woman to hold the position of being a professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences. Marie also held the position of Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris. 

Experiments

Marie tested different types of natural resources until she found a mineral called pitchblende that was thought to be made up of oxygen and uranium, at least until Marie proved otherwise. When Marie found powerful rays in the pitchblende, she decided to start testing. Marie put the pitchblende in huge pots and cooked it and turned it into powder, and then isolated all the elements in the powder. Months later, she discovered two new elements named Polonium and Radium. 

How Marie Curie contributed to the Atomic Theory

When Marie Curie discovered these new elements of the name Polonium and Radium, she found that the powerful rays that were emitting from the mineral pitchblende were actually small particles from small atoms that were disintegrating in the elements. Marie Curie contributed to the atomic theory by providing evidence for atoms being solid and unchanging.