One morning in May 1920, an American reporter named Mrs. McLone finally met the discoverer of radium, Madame Curie, in a Paris laboratory after many twists and turns. The dignified and elegant Marie Curie and the extremely simple (lòu) laboratory left a deep impression on this American reporter. At this time, it had been eighteen years since the advent of radium. Its original price was as high as 750,000 francs per gram. The American reporter concluded from this that Marie Curie should have become rich long ago based on this patented technology alone.
In fact, the Curies gave up their patent eighteen years ago and published the radium purification method without reservation. Madam Curie's explanation was unusually plain: "No one should get rich from radium. It belongs to all mankind." Do you want something?"
"Yes, one gram of radium to facilitate my research. But today, eighteen years later, I can't afford it. It's too expensive."
This unexpected answer surprised Mrs. McLone. Radium purification technology has made businessmen all over the world rich, but the discoverers of radium are so trapped! She immediately flew back to the United States and found out that the market price of one gram of radium in the United States at that time was US$100,000. She first found ten female millionaires, thinking that they were both women and rich, so they would definitely help each other with tens of millions of dollars. Unexpectedly, they all hit a wall. Mrs. McLone realized that this was not just a demand for money, but also a social education calling for the public to understand science and promote the character of scientists. As a result, she campaigned among women across the United States and eventually succeeded. On May 20, 1921, the President of the United States donated one gram of radium donated by the public to Marie Curie.
A few years later, when Marie Curie wanted to establish a radium research institute in her native Warsaw, Poland, to carry out cancer treatment work, the American public once again donated a gram of radium to her. .
Some people believe that Marie Curie was incomprehensibly stubborn in her treatment of radium. As long as you sign the patent, wouldn't all the difficulties be solved? Marie Curie later answered this question in her autobiography: "What they said is not unreasonable, but I still believe that our couple is right. Human beings need people who have the courage to practice, and they can gain great gains from their work, both Not forgetting the welfare of the public, but also protecting one's own interests, human beings also need dreamers and selfless people who are dedicated to their careers."
Madame Curie once owned three grams of radium in her life. These three grams of radium show the great personality of a scientist.
Reference materials
Marie Curie (1867-1934) was originally named Maria Skrodovskaya. French physicist and chemist. Originally from Poland. Together with her husband Pierre Curie, she studied radioactive phenomena. The radioactive element radium was discovered in 1903; later another radioactive element, polonium, was discovered. For this, she won the Nobel Prize twice and was hailed as the most outstanding female scientist of the 20th century. She has two wonderful daughters. The eldest daughter Irena is an outstanding scientist and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1937. The youngest daughter Eve is a famous music educator and biographer, and has written the book "The Biography of Madame Curie".
Mrs. McLone was a famous American journalist at the time and the editor-in-chief of New York Women's Magazine.
Radium is a radioactive metal element, silvery white crystal, shiny, highly radioactive, and can continuously emit a large amount of heat. Radium's radiation has strong penetrating power, can destroy animal tissues and kill bacteria, and can be used to treat cancer or skin diseases.
The story of modifying the certificate In 1921, when Marie Curie was invited to visit the United States, the President of the United States gave her one gram of radium (worth more than one million U.S. dollars) donated by the public, which she urgently needed. Before the gift ceremony, she was unhappy when she saw the words "Given to Madame Curie" written on the "Gift Certificate". She declared: “This certificate needs to be revised.
The gram of radium gifted to me by the American people should always belong to science. However, if it is written as it is now, this gram of radium will become private property and become the inheritance of my daughters. This is absolutely unacceptable. "The organizer hired a lawyer that night to modify the certificate, and then Marie Curie signed the "Certificate of Gift".
Marie Curie (1867-1934) Marie Curie (1867-1934), a French-Polish scientist who studied radioactive phenomena and discovered two radioactive elements, radium and polonium, won the Nobel Prize twice in her life. A radioactive element, she won the Nobel Prize twice in her life. As an outstanding scientist, Marie Curie had a social influence that ordinary scientists did not have. Especially because she was a pioneer of successful women, her example inspired many people in their childhood. The world's understanding of Madame Curie was largely influenced by the biography "Madame Curie" published by her second daughter in 1937. . This book beautifies the life of Marie Curie and calmly handles the twists and turns she encountered in her life. American biographer Susan Quinn spent seven years collecting members of the Curie family. A new book was published last year: "Maria Curie: A Life" based on the unpublished diary and biographical information of her friends, which depicts her hard, bitter and struggling life course. A more detailed and in-depth image
Marie Curie: A great scientist who won the Nobel Prize twice
In the history of world science, Marie Curie is an eternal name. . This great female scientist has made outstanding contributions in the fields of physics and chemistry with her diligence and talent, and has therefore become the only person to win the Nobel Prize twice in two different disciplines.
You can buy this book about Marie Curie.