Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    ktwich's Avatar
    ktwich Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Oct 4, 2010, 06:20 PM
    Madame and Pierre Curie and Radium
    Explain why Madame and Pierre Curie were able to discover radium, even though its half-life of 1603 years is much less than what is usually considered to be the age of the universe.
    Wondergirl's Avatar
    Wondergirl Posts: 39,354, Reputation: 5431
    Jobs & Parenting Expert
    		  
    #2

    Oct 4, 2010, 06:24 PM

    Wikipedia (including footnotes and a bibliography) says,

    Radium (Latin radius, ray) was discovered by Marie Skłodowska-Curie and her husband Pierre in 1898 in pitchblende coming from North Bohemia, in the Czech Republic (area around Jáchymov). While studying pitchblende the Curies removed uranium from it and found that the remaining material was still radioactive. They then separated out a radioactive mixture consisting mostly of barium which gave a brilliant green flame color and crimson carmine spectral lines which had never been documented before. The Curies announced their discovery to the French Academy of Sciences on 26 December 1898.[5]

    As for the half-life part of your (homework) question, you will have to Google for that yourself.
Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions
 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

Boucher Litho of Madame Pompadour [ 2 Answers ]

Would appreciate assistance determining history, age, value of a colored Lithograph (approv 5"x7") I've recently acquired. The Lithograph is of a pretty young lady, with pinkish flowers in her short/braided hair. She's wearing a pint (with some white) bow on her neck. Dress front is make of...

Artist Pierre [ 1 Answers ]

My mother has a drawing signed "Pierre" on the front on the back it says distributed by TURNER New York, Chicago, Los Angeles genuine etching by Pierre entitled "the Windmill". ~ Paris Etching Society. There is also a circle with an SZL in it. All of this information is in a big square. Then...

Madame cj walker [ 1 Answers ]

I'm doing a paper on madame cj walker and I need help with putting my internet sources in parenthetical documentation but I just have a website and no author or date

IKEA Radium Lighting interference with TV [ 3 Answers ]

I have installed the low voltage lighting kit. When I turned on the TV with the lights on I have interference lines on the screen. When I turn the lights off the lines go away. I moved the rail so it was not over the TV. With one lamp on the rail, I did not get the interference lines. But when...

View more questions Search