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How Did Marie Curie Affect The World

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Did you know that Marie Curie had financial problems as a child? However, that didn't hinder her. She became the first woman to receive not just one Nobel prize, but two. Marie Curie influenced change in our world by not only being a scientist, but a woman activist through her outstanding achievements. She also looked further into what radium was capable of after Henri Becquerel discovered it, and not to mention her incredible discovery of the element polonium. Marie Curie became a woman activist through her achievements in her lifetime. It all started when Marie’s father taught her about math and physics. Marie instantly fell in love with the subjects and was eager to learn more, but she reached the capacity for her learning in her …show more content…

She was furious, why were these opportunities not open to women? She decided to move to France, where women were allowed to learn, so she could continue her studies. Her moving to France sure did pay off, in the year 1903, according to nobelprize.org, she ended up being awarded the Nobel prize in physics for her studies on radium. She thus became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel prize. For a woman to be awarded that prize in her time period was unheard of because women were just supposed to stay at home and take care of the house and children. She showed women, through her achievement, that they could be more than just a wife, they could learn and become something amazing. Even after Marie was awarded the Nobel prize, many male scientists still never thought of her as their equal. They always looked down on her instead of looking at her as a …show more content…

Polonium is a highly radioactive metal. Marie discovered polonium by grinding pitchblende with a pestle, but before she started grinding it, she first discovered that radiation is linked to an atom, not an atom’s molecules, which everybody thought at the time. With this hypothesis she successfully discovered polonium, which she and her husband named after Marie’s home, Poland. Her polonium was then used later on in her lifetime to discover the atomic nucleus, artificial radioactivity, and fission, which is the reproduction of a cell. The discovery of polonium has changed our world because it is now used as a lightweight heat source for thermoelectric power in space satellites. Polonium is used in the satellites because a small amount of polonium can release a large amount of energy making the supply last longer. Satellites are very important in our world because they are used for communication and they take pictures of other planets and galaxies so scientists can understand more of what's out there. Satellites are why people can see shows on a TV. Also, they help with transmitting cell phone calls around the world. This is especially helpful for when an important business call is being made from one country or state to another country or state. Without Marie’s discovery of polonium, we wouldn't be able to have satellites, artificial radioactivity, or understand what an atomic nucleus

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