Madame Curie's Three Grams of Radium:
On a morning in May 1920, an American reporter named Mrs. McLonnell finally met Madame Curie, the discoverer of radium, in her Paris laboratory after several difficulties. The dignified and elegant Madame Curie and the unusually simple laboratory left a deep impression on the American journalist.
At this time, radium has been eighteen years in the making, and its price per gram was once as high as seven hundred and fifty thousand gold francs! The American journalist deduced that with this patented technology alone, Mrs. Curie should have been rich by now.
In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Curie gave up their patent eighteen years ago and published the method of purifying radium without reservation. Mrs. Curie's explanation was unusually bland: "No one should get rich from radium; it belongs to all mankind."
Mrs. Mellonet, perplexed, asked, "Is there nothing in the world that you want more than anything else?"
"There was, a gram of radium for my research. But I can't afford it after eighteen years, it's too expensive."
This unexpected answer surprised Madame de Méronné. The technology of purifying radium had made businessmen all over the world rich, while the discoverer of radium was so stranded! She immediately flew back to the United States, inquired about a gram of radium in the United States at the time of the market price of 100,000 U.S. dollars, they first found ten female millionaires, thinking that the same woman, but also money, they will certainly help, never expected to hit a wall.
Mrs. McLonnell realized that this is not just a demand for money, but also a call for the public to understand science and promote the character of scientists in social education. So she campaigned among women across the United States, and eventually succeeded; on May 20, 1921, the president of the United States presented Madame Curie with a gram of radium donated by the public.
A few years later, when Madame Curie wanted to create a radium institute in her native Warsaw, Poland, to treat cancer, the American public again donated a gram of radium to her.
Some believe that Madame Curie was unfathomably stubborn about radium. Wouldn't all the difficulties be solved by signing the patent?
Madame Curie later answered this question in her autobiography: "What they said was not without merit, but I still believe that we as a couple were right. Mankind needs men of courage, men who can achieve great rewards from their work, who do not forget the welfare of the public and who can safeguard their own interests. But mankind also needs dreamers, people who are intoxicated with the ecumenical nature of their endeavors."
Mrs. Curie had three grams of radium in her life. These three grams of radium show the great personality of a scientist.
Expanded:
Mrs. Curie's life was characterized by her greatness of character. p>I. Introduction to Madame Curie:
Marie Curie (November 7, 1867-July 4, 1934), born in Warsaw, was known as "Madame Curie", and her full name was Maria Sk?odowska Curie. Maria Sk?odowska Curie was a French scientist, physicist and chemist of Polish descent.
In 1903, Mr. and Mrs. Curie and Becquerel due to the study of radioactivity and *** with the Nobel Prize in Physics, 1911, due to the discovery of the elements polonium and radium again won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, thus becoming the world's first two Nobel Prize winners. Mrs. Curie's achievements include pioneering the theory of radioactivity, inventing techniques for separating radioisotopes, and discovering two new elements, polonium and radium.
Under her guidance, radioisotopes were used for the first time in the treatment of cancer. Due to prolonged exposure to radioactive materials, Madame Curie died on July 3, 1934, of malignant leukemia.
II. Society's Evaluation of Madame Curie
Einstein said, "Of all the world's celebrities, Marie Curie is the only one who has not been spoiled by fame."
Academy of Sciences President Xiaofar: Marie Curie, you are a great scholar, a great woman who devoted herself wholeheartedly to her work and sacrificed her life for science, a patriot who has always worked for the sake of an extra duty, both in war and in peace, and we salute you.
Your presence here, from which we can derive spiritual benefit, is appreciated; we are proud to have you in our midst. You are the first French woman to enter the Academy of Sciences, and deservedly so.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Madame Curie