Changing the Scientific World |
“In discovering radioactivity my parents did exactly what my grandmother had done but in reverse. In each case, they [Marie Curie and Irène Joliot-Curie] created a situation in which the science had to be rethought.” |
Marie Curie's discovery of radium and polonium created a whole new industry revolving around radioactivity. She and her husband started the foundation of the radium industry. The radium industry eventually led to x-rays and radiation being used in the medical field, like in cancer research and treatment. Other inventions after used radium in them, and she created a whole new field of research. Radiotherapy is still used today for cancer research and treatment. It is also used for treatment of other diseases. It was also used in many other products before people understood the risk, such as clocks, toothpaste, and cosmetics (mentalfloss.com).
-“I love it [radium], but I owe it a grudge” |
"I am happy with my injury. My wife is as pleased as I am… This shouldn’t frighten people.” |
They discovered that radium has a negative effect when people are exposed to it for a prolonged period of time. Pierre was exposed to it and he developed a rash on his skin that consisted of dead cells. This led to the development and research of cancer treatments using radiation to kill diseased cells. While the treatments were not always successful at first, they ended up being very successful for treating things such as breast cancer, lung cancer, rectal cancer, (Goldsmith 202) etc. This led to how much more advancement has been made at treating and curing cancer we are today. People also began using radium and radiotherapy for x-ray treatment (also because of Röntgen’s initial discovery of x-rays). We still use x-rays consistently today for many medical reasons and they are extremely helpful. In the 1950s, the very effective radioactive isotope Cobalt-60 replaced radium in cancer treatment and medical tracers (Goldsmith 204), and radium became obsolete, but radium is still an important term that revolves around Madame Curie (Goldsmith 204).
Sources for this tab:
-Goldsmith 200, 202, 204, 226
-Goldsmith
-mentalfloss.com
-Goldsmith 200, 202, 204, 226
-Goldsmith
-mentalfloss.com