Maria Sklodowska-Curie - world famous the female scientist in the field of physics and chemistry which got the Nobel Prize twice. At the same time its opening formed the basis of many modern postulates of these sciences.
Maria Sklodowska who was born in 1867 in the capital of Poland - Warsaw since childhood had tendency to natural to sciences. Despite all difficulties in their study connected with restrictions in this area for female representatives in those days she achieved impressive success in the favourite subject. She received the second part of the surname - Curie - having married the French physicist Pierre Curie.
Discoveries of Maria Sklodowska-Curie
Maria Sklodowska-Curie chose as the main area of application of the outstanding abilities studying radioactivity. It worked on this subject together with the husband, studying various properties of radioactive elements. The most part of their experiments was carried out with application of one of widespread minerals of an uraninite: in total for years of the work they used more than eight tons of this ore.
Opening of two new elements which were absent in the known system of chemicals before - Mendeleyev's table became result of this laborious work. Studying various fractions formed as a result of experiments over an uraninite spouses allocated an element which in coordination among themselves was called radium, having connected it with the Latin word "radius" which means "beam". The second element received by them during scientific work received the name in honor of Poland - Maria Sklodowska-Curie's homeland: it was called polonium. Both of these opening took place in 1898.
However full-time employment with radioactive elements could not but have negative impact on health of the researcher. She got sick with leukemia and on July 4, 1934 died in the homeland of her husband, in France.
Recognition of discoveries
Maria Sklodowska-Curie gained recognition as the outstanding researcher still during lifetime. In 1903 the Nobel committee awarded to Curie's spouses an award in the field of physics for their researches of radioactivity. So Maria Sklodowska-Curie became the first woman - the Nobel laureate. In 1910 she was nominated as the candidate for the accession to the French academy of Sciences. However the scientific environment of that time was not ready to that among her members there was a woman: to this case men were her members only. As a result with overweight only in two voices the negative decision was made. Nevertheless, already in the following, 1911 the Nobel committee recognized her scientific merits again - this time in the field of chemistry. It awarded an award for discovery of radium and polonium. Thus, Maria Sklodowska-Curie is twice a Nobel Prize laureate, and among women of such winners does not exist till today.