Marie Curie
Original name: Marie Sklodowska
Marie Curie (1867--1934), Polish, French Physicist, chemist, world-famous scientist, studied radioactive phenomena, discovered two radioactive elements, radium and polonium, and won the Nobel Prize twice in his life. As an outstanding scientist, Marie Curie had a social influence that ordinary scientists did not have. Especially because she is a pioneer of successful women, her example has inspired many people. Many people heard her story as children but mostly got a simplified and incomplete impression. What the world knows about Madame Curie. He was largely influenced by his daughter's biography "Madame Curie" published 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 American biographer Susan Quinn spent seven years collecting unpublished diaries and biographical information from Curie family members and friends. A new book was published last year: "Maria Curie: A Life", which paints a more detailed and in-depth picture of her hard, bitter and struggling life.
Life experience
If you only look at your resume, it is easy to think that Maria Curie was just a successful scientist who had everything going smoothly. She was born in Warsaw, Poland, in November 1867. I have one brother and three sisters, and both my parents are teachers. She graduated from high school at the top of her class at the age of 15. After that, he worked as a tutor for several years. In 1891, he went to Sorbonne to receive university education. He graduated in 1894 with two certificates in mathematics and physics. In 1895, she married Pierre Curie, who taught at the School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry in Paris. In the autumn of 1897, her eldest daughter, Irène, was born. Previously. She did magnetism research with Gabriel Lippman of the Sorbonne and published her first paper. At this time, in preparation for her doctoral thesis, she began to work on a new topic in Pierre's laboratory. I soon joined my wife's work. Their experimental notes began on December 6, 1897, and ended on February 17, 1898, when they recorded the first observation of the new radioactive element polonium. After several months of tracking and analysis, they proposed two important discoveries in a report officially submitted to the French Academy of Sciences on July 18: one is the element polonium, and the other is the concept of radioactivity. The discovery of phenomena such as the purification of polonium and the isolation of another new element, radium, greatly stimulated chemical research; and the study of radioactivity was a breakthrough discovery in the study of the nature of matter. In June 1903, Marie Curie passed the thesis defense and was awarded a doctorate in physical science. In early November, the Curies were awarded the Humphrey Davy Medal of the Royal Society; in mid-November, they learned that they had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the highest honor, together with Henri Becquerel, in recognition of their work on radioactivity. study of phenomena. In 1905 they had a second daughter, Eve. Pierre died in 1906. In 1911 Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For her discovery of polonium and radium. Marie Curie passed away in 1934. In 1935, her eldest daughter Irene and her son-in-law Frédéric Joliot-Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (their scientific discoveries were known to Mrs. Curie while she was still alive). In 1937, the second daughter published "Madame Curie", which became a biography that became popular all over the world.
Finally, on December 6, 1904, a fat baby was born with black hair standing on top of his head. Another daughter: named Eve.
The smiles and play of the new-born baby delighted the young mother; the smallest children always made her fond. In a gray notebook Biography of Marie Curie ·106·, she kept records of Eve's earliest postures and the teeth that began to grow, just as she had done with Irena before. Mary's neurological status gradually improved as the baby developed. The forced rest caused by childbirth allowed her to relax and thereby restore her spice to life. She touched her instruments again with a cheerfulness which she had forgotten. Soon she went to Sèvre to teach.
She wavered for some time, but now regained her steady pace and resumed the arduous journey.
The weather was fine, Pierre felt much healthier, and Mary was happier. Now they should fulfill a long-delayed responsibility: go to Stockholm to give the Nobel lecture.
On June 6, 1905, Biel lectured at the Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on behalf of his wife and himself. He traces the consequences of the discovery of radium: in physics it led to a radical revision of basic principles; in chemistry it led to bold hypotheses explaining the origin of the forces responsible for radioactive phenomena; in geology it led to In science and meteorology, it is the key to explaining previously unexplainable phenomena; finally, in biology, radium's effect on cancer cells has been proven to be effective.
The house on Avenue Kellermann is like a fortress, refusing to let intruders; Pierre and Marie still live a simple and reclusive life inside. Worries about housework have been greatly reduced. A rough maid took on a heavy workload. A maid doing the cooking and serving the meals; Biography of Marie Curie·107·She always opened her mouth in amazement at the strange attentiveness of her employers, and often waited in vain for them to compliment her on the barbecue or on her cooking. Mashed potatoes.
One day, this simple woman couldn't help it. She stood in front of Pierre and asked him in a firm tone how he thought the fried steak he had just eaten was done, but his The answer baffled her.
The scholar murmured: "Did I eat fried steak?" and then added conciliatingly: "Maybe!"
Mary was working Even when she was busiest, she always set aside time to take care of her children; because of her duties, she had to leave her two daughters to the maid, but she made sure to personally confirm that Irena and Ive were sleeping well, eating well, and grooming themselves. She only felt at ease if she had to be clean and tidy and not have a cold or any other illness. If she doesn't pay enough attention occasionally, Irena will definitely remind her! Irena was a very authoritarian child, jealously monopolizing her mother, and only reluctantly allowing her mother to take care of the "younger one." In the winter, Marie often walked long distances in Paris to find the kind of apples and bananas that Irena would eat, and if she couldn't find them, she almost didn't dare go home.
The couple spent most of their evenings at home in plain clothes and slippers, flipping through scientific publications or doing complex calculations in their notebooks. But sometimes they went to painting exhibitions, and seven or eight times a year they spent two hours at concerts and theaters.
If Marie occasionally invited people to her home, she would always try her best to cook the dishes to perfection and tidy the house in a pleasant way. She concentrated on walking around among the carts filled with vegetables and fruits on Fouda Road or Alaisiya Road, selecting good fruits, and solemnly asking the dairy merchant about the quality of his various cheeses; After picking up a few handfuls of tulips and lilacs and returning home, she "made a bouquet" herself. The maid was very excited to prepare more complicated dishes than usual, and the nearby pastry merchant solemnly brought ice cream. In this work-focused family, the most casual gatherings would cause such commotion in advance. At the end, Mary checked the tableware and moved the furniture. The guests invited were either foreign colleagues passing through Paris, or Poles who brought news to Mary. Marie Curie also organized several children's parties for Irena, who was afraid of strangers; the Christmas tree she personally decorated with garlands, walnuts wrapped in gold paper and candles of various colors remains in the happy memories of the younger generation.
Frequent visitors to the house on Avenue Kellermann included André de Burne, Jean Pehan and his wife, Marie's best friend, George Yubain, Paul Lang Zhiwan, Emmy Gordon, George Sania, Chalang-Edua Guiyam and seven or eight other close friends, including a few girls from Sèvre and some scholars, they are all scholars!
On a sunny Sunday afternoon these people gathered in the garden. Marie sat in the shade of a tree, near Eve's cart, with her sewing in her hands; but her sewing and mending did not prevent her from paying attention to all the conversation which other women had To people's ears, it is simply much more profound than discussing issues in Chinese.
These extraordinary conversations were sometimes mixed with some humane words: Dr. Curie discussed politics with De Beerne and Langevin, and Ban Yu laughed at Mary in a friendly way and criticized her too simple clothes. , reproached her for her contempt for dressing up, and the young woman listened with astonishment to this sudden lesson. Jean Pehan stopped talking about atoms, stopped talking about "infinitely small things", and raised his handsome and enthusiastic face to the sky, like a Wagner admirer, and sang "Da Rhine Gold" or "Meining". Singer's songs. Deep in the garden, a little further away, Madame Pehan was telling fairy tales to her children, Alina France and their companion Irena.
A new era opened before the Curies. France noticed them and wanted to support their efforts.
The first step, and it is an indispensable step, is to elect Biel to the Academy of Sciences. The scholar was visited again for the second time.
His sponsors, fearful that he would not act like a "wise candidate," gave him a lot of caring advice.
Pierre Curie entered the Academy of Sciences on July 3, 1905, but reluctantly! 22 academicians voted for his candidate, Mr. Zenei.
Biography of Marie Curie · 110 · Biel did not admire this Academy of Sciences very much. On the other hand, he paid close attention to matters decided for him by the University of Paris. President Li Yaer had already set up a physics chair for him in 1904. This long-awaited position as a full professor was finally obtained! Before accepting the promotion, Biel asked where the laboratory attached to his position was.
Lab? What laboratory? There is no mention of a laboratory!
The two Nobel Prize winners, the "parents" of radium, immediately discovered that Pierre had left P. ". When N. was transferred to Soleburn to teach, he could hardly do any work. The new position gave him no place to work, and P." N. Of course, the two rooms provided by the faculty must be given to the successor, so he had no choice but to conduct experiments on the street.
Biel used his beautiful writing style to write a polite but firm letter to his bosses. Since the new position does not provide a studio or research funds, he is willing to resign. Still in P. ". N. Faculty still teaches so many hours. In that small place, Mary and he can still do some useful work.
After several more discussions, the University of Paris finally made a In an extraordinary move, he asked the Senate to create a laboratory and allocate 50,000 francs. This plan was adopted or almost adopted! There was no room for Pierre in Sauerbourne, but two buildings could be built for him in Rue Cuvier. A room can provide Mr. Curie with 12,000 francs per year, plus 34,000 francs for equipment.
Biography of Madame Curie · 111 · The naive Pierre thought he could use the "equipment fee" to buy instruments. All his equipment. Yes, he can use it this way, but the cost of new construction must be taken out of this small amount. The authorities treat the construction fee and "equipment fee" as one thing!
In this way, the usefulness of these official plans was reduced.
A wealthy woman was moved when she learned about this situation, and volunteered to help the Curies and offered them a quiet stay. Building a research institute in the suburbs. Pierre Curie had hope, and he stated his plans and wishes to her one by one.
Only one thing brought real happiness to the Curies. From now on, El will have three collaborators: a laboratory director, an assistant, and a worker.
Until now, the laboratory director has only allowed this young woman to work in the laboratory. The research on radium that Marie completed was without name and remuneration. It was not until November 1904 that she was given a fixed position and salary-2,400 francs a year! This was the first time she officially entered her husband's laboratory! .
They were adapting to their new life. Pierre was preparing lessons, and Marie was still teaching at Sèvres. The two met in the small laboratory of Rue Cuvier. De Beerne, Albert Laborde, American Professor Duana, and several assistants or students were all continuing their research in this laboratory, all looking down at the Biography of Marie Curie they were using for experiments. 112·Weak equipment.
On Easter 1906, the weather was beautiful. Pierre and Marie spent a few days outside, in the quiet house of Chevryuse-Saint-Rémy.
They resumed their country habits and took their daughter to a nearby farm to collect milk every night. Eve was just fourteen months old and her steps were very unsteady. She stubbornly tried to walk on the hard dirt tracks, which made Pierre laugh.
On Sunday, when the bell rang in the distance, the couple took a bicycle to the woods of Hewayabu for a picnic, bringing back flowering branches and water buttercups. The next day Pierre felt too tired to go out again, so he lay lazily on the grass. The soft and lovely sunlight slowly disperses the morning fog that shrouds the valley. Eve sat on a blanket and yelled, while Irena swung a small green net in pursuit of butterflies and cheered loudly with joy for her rare catches. Feeling the heat, she took off her coat and wore comically a little girl's shirt and boy's shorts; Pierre and Marie lay close to each other, admiring the beauty of their child.
Perhaps it was that morning, or perhaps it was the first day. The charm and tranquility of the intoxicating spring made Pierre calm down. He looked at his two daughters jumping on the grass, and then at the motionless children. Mary lying next to her.
He caressed his wife's cheek and golden hair, and whispered: "Life is sweet with you, Mary." Thursday, April 19, 1906, seemed gloomy, and the It was raining and the sky was dark; although the Curies concentrated on their work, they could not forget the April showers. That day Pierre was going to attend a dinner of the Association of Professors of the Faculty of Science, to see the proofs of his publisher, Gauthier Vuillard, and then to the Academy of Sciences. Mary also has several lessons to teach.
In the rush of the morning, the couple barely saw each other.
Pierre called to Marie downstairs and asked her if she was going to the laboratory; Marie was dressing Irena and Ive upstairs and replied that she must not have time to go today - but she The words were drowned out by the noise. The door banged, and Pierre hurried out and left quickly.
While Marie was having lunch with her daughters and Dr. Curie at home, Pierre was having a cordial conversation with his colleagues in the restaurant. He loved these quiet gatherings, where they talked about Thorburn, studies, and careers. This general conversation turned to the possibility of sudden accidents in the laboratory, and Biel immediately formulated a rule to reduce the risk to researchers.
At nearly half past two, he stood up with a smile, said goodbye to his friends, and shook hands with Jean Pehan, whom he was going to meet that evening. When he reached the door, he looked at the sky carelessly, frowned at the rain clouds that day, then opened his big umbrella and walked towards the Seine District in the pouring rain.
When he arrived at Gautier Viard's, he saw the door closed: the workers were on strike. He turned and walked onto the Rue Dauphine, which was very noisy with the shouts of the coachmen and the shrill noise of the tram passing by the quay near the quay. How crowded is this narrow road in the old district of Paris! The road can barely accommodate cars and horses, but at this time of the afternoon there are too many pedestrians and the sidewalk is too narrow. Biel instinctively looked for a road with fewer people. Sometimes he walked on the stone paved roadside, sometimes on the road, his pace was very unsteady, he was thinking about things in his heart, his eyes were focused, and his face was solemn. What was he thinking? Thinking about the experiment he was conducting? Are you thinking about his friend Yu Ban's job? The paper submitted by class Yu to the Academy of Sciences is now in his pocket. Are you thinking about Mary?
He had been walking on the asphalt road for a while, following a cab that was slowly driving towards Nove Bridge. When the street intersected the quay, the noise became even louder. A tram bound for Gond had just passed along the river, and a four-wheeled heavy goods vehicle pulled by two horses was coming over the bridge, crossing the tracks and speeding into the Dauphine Road.
Pierre wanted to cross the street and go to the sidewalk over there. With a sudden, absent-minded movement, he left the cover of the cab, whose boxy box obscured his view; he took a few steps to the left, bumping into a steaming beast. The truck was crossing the carriage at this time, and it hit one of the horses driving it. The two cars approached like a whirlwind. Pierre was startled and moved awkwardly, trying to get close to the horse's chest, but it suddenly stood up on its hind legs.
The sole of the scholar's shoe slipped on the wet ground, and he heard a cry, which caused a cry of terror. Biography of Madame Curie·115·El had already fallen under the iron hooves of the two horses; the passers-by shouted loudly: "Stop, stop!" The groom hurriedly reined in, but it was of no use. The two horses continued to move toward Go forward.
Pierre fell to the ground, alive and uninjured. He didn't shout, and he barely moved. The horse's hooves and the two front wheels of the truck passed by his body without hurting him. A miracle might happen, but that huge car, carrying six tons, still had to go a few more meters. The left rear wheel hit a weak obstacle and crushed it in one turn. This is a forehead, a human head. The skull was shattered, and a red sticky substance was splashed in the mud - Pierre Curie's brain.
Several policemen lifted up the hot body that was killed in an instant. They called several taxis in succession, but the drivers were unwilling to put a bloody, muddy corpse in the car. After a few minutes, curious people gathered and crowded together. The crowd gathered around the parked truck, shouting angrily at the driver, Louis Marnan, who had unintentionally caused the tragedy. Later, two men brought a stretcher and placed the body on it. After a useless stop in a pharmacy, it was carried to a nearby police station, where his wallet was opened and his papers checked. As soon as the news spread that the victim was Pierre Curie, a professor and a famous scholar, people's commotion immediately doubled; many people made fists and wanted to hit the coachman Manan, and the police had to intervene to protect him.
Biography of Marie Curie · 116· The doctor Mr. Dehouet washed the muddy face with a sponge, looked closely at the large wound on his head, and counted the 16 bones that were skulls 20 minutes ago. Broken bones. People notified the Faculty of Science by phone; soon, in the small police station on Augustan Road in Gon, a sympathetic branch chief and a secretary looked at the physicist's deputy assistant, Mr. Clare, leaning over and crying. The coachman, Manan, blushed and was crying.
Pierre lay between them, his forehead bandaged, his face uninjured and uncovered, careless of everything now.
The truck was five meters long, filled with military uniforms, and parked in front of the door.
The rain has washed away the blood stains on one of the wheels bit by bit.
The two majestic and young horses were a little uneasy because their master was not around, snoring and tapping their hooves on the ground.
Disaster suddenly struck Curie's doorstep. Some cars and cabs wandered along the old city walls of Paris, and then stopped on the deserted Avenue Kellerman. People sent by the Presidential Palace of the People's Republic of China rang the bell in front of the door. When they heard that "Mrs. Curie did not come back," they left without explaining the reason. The bell rang again, and in came Paul Appel, dean of the Faculty of Science, and Professor Jean Pehan.
Only Dr. Curie and a maid were in this empty house. He was surprised to see these important guests. He stepped forward to greet the two people and saw that their faces looked very flustered. Paul Appel was ordered to inform Mary first, so he maintained an awkward silence in front of her father-in-law.
At six o'clock, there was the sound of a key turning in the keyhole, and Marie appeared at the door of the living room, cheerful and lively. She discerned in the over-respectful attitude of her friends something terrible about the expression of condolence. As Paul Appel recounted what had happened, Mary remained completely still and stiff, with an air that led one to believe that she had not understood at all. She did not fall into the arms which were kindly extended to support her; she did not moan or cry; they said she was as lifeless and insensate as a wooden figure. After a long and terrible silence, her lips finally moved and she asked in a low voice, longing to hear some denial: "Is Pierre dead? Dead? Really dead?"
< p> A sudden disaster can completely change a person and never return to the original state; this is a very common thing and is not new. Even so, those few minutes had a decisive impact on Mary's character and on the fate of her and his daughters, which cannot be ignored. Marie Curie did not transform from a happy young wife into an inconsolable widow. Her change was not simple, but rather serious.The inner turmoil that broke Mary's heart, the nameless horrors that lurked in her deranged thoughts, were too strong to be expressed in complaint or conversation. "Pierre is dead", as soon as these words reached her consciousness, a loneliness and unspeakable secrecy enveloped her heart, which she could never get rid of. On that day in April, Madame Curie not only became a widow, but also became a lonely and pitiful woman who could not be cured.
Those who witnessed this tragedy felt the Biography of Marie Curie ·118· invisible wall between her and them. Their words of sorrow and consolation only passed through Mary's ears. Her eyes were dry and her face was so pale that she seemed unable to hear what they said, and it was very difficult to answer some of the most pressing questions. In a few terse words she refused an autopsy, the final step in the legal investigation, and demanded that Biel's body be moved back to Avenue Kellermann. She asked her friend Madame Pehan to stay with Irena for a few days; she sent a telegram to Warsaw, "Pierre died in an accident." Then she went to the damp garden and sat down with her elbows on the On her knees, with her head in her hands, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, lifeless, without saying a word, she waited for her partner.
Someone first sent her a few pitiful relics found in Pierre's pocket: a fountain pen, some keys, a wallet, and a watch; the watch's mechanism was still there. Let's go, the table is not broken. Finally, at eight o'clock in the evening, an ambulance pulled up in front of the house. Mary climbed into the car and saw the calm, kind face in the half-darkness.
The stretcher was slowly and laboriously carried through the narrow door. André De Burna had gone to the police station to bring back the body of his friend and mentor, and now he was carrying this sad burden. They parked the deceased in a room downstairs, where Mary was alone with her husband.
She kissed his face, his soft body that was almost still warm, and his hands that couldn't be bent or stretched. People forced her to the next room and refused to watch the deceased being buried. She seemed to obey unconsciously, and then suddenly remembered that she could not let these few minutes pass like this, and that she should not let anyone else take care of the bloody body, she came back and hugged her. Keep the corpse alive.
When Jacques Curie arrived the next day, Marie's tightened throat relaxed and the floodgates of tears opened; she finally cried alone to the two surviving brothers. Then she regained her composure and wandered around the house, asking if Eve had been groomed as usual. She went to the garden to call Irena and talked to the child through the fence. She told the child that "Dad" had a serious injury to his head and needed to be quiet. The carefree child went back to playing.
After a few weeks, because Mary could not express her misery in front of others, she fell completely into silence and loneliness. This loneliness sometimes made her scream in fear. She opened a gray notebook and tremblingly wrote out the thoughts that were suffocating her. In these pages, full of redactions, stained with tears, and of which only a few paragraphs could be published, she spoke to Biel, called to him, and asked him questions. She tried to write down every detail of the tragedy that tore them apart, so that the memory would torture her forever. This short private diary—Mary's first and only diary—reflects the most tragic period of this woman's life.
Mary lost her partner and the world lost a great person.
Such a cruel death in the rain and mud shocked public opinion. Newspapers from various countries used several columns to report the unfortunate incident of Madame Curie in Dauphine Road ·120· in a sad and moving way. Many letters of sympathy were sent to Kellermann Avenue, signed by kings, ministers, poets, scholars, and some unknown people. Among the bundles of letters, articles, and telegrams were some voices of genuine feeling.
Mary became a machine, and not even the look of her children could awaken her feelings. Her movements were sluggish and she was in a trance, as if she had left the living people.
The death of Pierre Curie raised some major questions: How to carry out the research work left behind by Pierre? What about his teaching position at Thorburn? What is Mary's future?
Her relatives discussed the issues in hushed tones, listening to the advice of ministry and school representatives who came one after another to Kellermann Avenue. The day after the funeral, the government proposed a state pension to Pierre Curie's widow and orphans.
Jacques asked Marie for her opinion, but she refused completely. She said: "I don't want a pension. I am still young and can earn money to support myself and my daughters."
In this sudden intensification of speech For the first time, a faint echo of her usual courage rang out in her voice.
The authorities exchanged views with the Curies and hesitated a lot. The university intends to keep Mary working at the school, but what title will it give her? Which laboratory is she asked to work in? Can this talented woman be asked to obey the command of a director? Where to find a professorship to lead a laboratory of Pierre Curie?
When someone asked Mrs. Curie her opinion, she replied blankly that she could not consider it yet. She did not know that France's highest teaching position was given to a woman for the first time. Mary listened absently to her father-in-law describing to her some details of the important task she should accept, and replied in only a few words: "I'll give it a try."
On May 13, 1906, Li The college meeting unanimously decided to reserve the teaching chair established by Pierre Curie, and this position was given to Marie in the name of "substitute teacher". Chapter 7 Alone Struggle People admired Mary for her ability to take care of the housework and to complete the great scientific work she was tasked with when she had a talented person supporting her. But people thought it was impossible for her to live a harder life and make greater efforts.
However, the responsibilities of the "widowed Marie Curie" will frighten a strong, happy and brave man.
She had to raise two children, provide for them and herself, and fulfill a professorship with distinction. She lost the outstanding spiritual wealth of Pierre Curie, but she must continue the research she was engaged in with this partner. His assistants and students were to be instructed and taught by her, and she had one main mission: to create a laboratory worthy of Biere, in which young researchers could develop the new science of radiology. This was Biere's mission. Your unfulfilled dream.
Mary's first concern was to enable her daughters and her father-in-law to live healthy lives. She rented an inelegant house on the Rue de Shermandel in Soleil, but it had a lovely garden attached that made the house beautiful. Dr. Curie lived alone in a separate room on one side. Irena got a piece of land and planted it freely. She felt very happy. Eve was looked after by her nanny, and she hunted her favorite turtles in the grass on the meadow, and chased black or tabby cats in the narrow lanes.
Madame Curie has done many things in her life that are worth learning from her. We must follow her example!
In the face of money and honor
The Curies were a pair of great scientists who selflessly devoted everything they had to science. However, the treatment given to their work by the relevant French departments was unfair and their response to their scientific research results was slow. It was the Swiss government that first recognized the talents of the Curies and proposed to assign them corresponding positions. In 1900, when Curie could only earn 500 francs per month and worked in Curie's laboratory that lacked equipment, the Swiss government The University of Geneva is willing to hire him to teach physics lectures with an annual salary of 10,000 francs and professor's treatment. But the Curies, who never considered money and treatment in order to extract pure radium, declined. Their first medal was given by the United Kingdom. Because they discovered new radioactive elements polonium and radium, they opened up a new field of radiochemistry. In 1903, the Royal Society invited the couple to give lectures in London and awarded the Royal Society the highest honor. ——Davey Medal. At the end of 1903, the Curies and Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
After letters of appointment and honors came one after another, the University of Paris in France awarded Marie Curie a doctorate in physics in 1903. In 1904, the Faculty of Science of the University of Paris opened a lecture for Pierre. In 1905, Pierre was elected as an academician of the French Academy of Sciences. The Curies, who only talked about dedication and not seeking success, did not care about these issues that they considered to be worthless. Along with the honor comes busy social activities and frequent interviews with reporters. Their work and life, as well as their daughter, became news and the talk of fashionable taverns. They feel annoyed and disturbed by this. What they need is silence and to continue working, not harassment.
For this reason, they had to disguise themselves like refugees and hide in remote villages. When an American reporter approached them alertly, Mary told him frankly: "In science, we should pay attention to things, not people." Some technicians who want to establish a radium manufacturing industry in the United States asked the Curies to apply for this project When the invention was patented, the couple made a decision after discussion: "We do not want to obtain material benefits from our discovery, so we will not obtain a patent license and will publish our research results without reservation, including the method of preparing radium." Technology. If anyone is interested in radium and asks us for guidance, we will introduce it in detail. This will be of great benefit to the development of the radium industry, which can develop freely in France and other countries. Its products are used by scholars and doctors who need radium." Such a statement shows the selfless and broad-mindedness of the Curies. They regard their scientific research results as the common wealth of all mankind.