What is Radioactivity?
-revolutionized physics, gradually transmuted into nuclear physics
-changed the ideas about matter and energy
-advaned medicine and energy production
-world politics forever affected, and brought a slew of new health hazards
1896: science first introduced an invisible radiation that could penetrate opaque bodies (Xrays)
Antoine Henri Becquerel- physicist who tested phosphorescent minerals. The first mineral to produce results; initially it was thought that sunlight was needed to produce an image using phosphorescence but he found that he didn’t need the sun. creating the rays only required uranium, Becquerel believed he’d discovered an invisible light. Found that uranium rays had electrical effects.
Maria Curie was working on a doctoral thesis, and wanted to search for elements that gave off invisible rays, called this “radioactivity”. She used ionization to test minerals. In this process she worked tirelessly and eventually uncovered the existence of two new elements: polonium and radium. These also created invisible rays.
Curie’s discoveries led to many people using the radiation they emitted. Scientists doubted Curie but her discoveries gave way to new methods and instrumentation, from which she was able to determine the properties of her new elements.
Found that three types of rays were emitted in this process of radiation: alpha, beta, and gamma rays
Scientists could not figure out what the energy source of radioactivity. Seemed to violate the principle of conservation energy (the principle that the total energy of any isolated system is constant and independent of any changes occurring within the system)
Sparked ideas about atomic transmutation; led to a discovery that atomic disintegration was a random occurrence, which altered physicist’s premise about causality in nature, which influenced the way they perceived many aspects of history and science. Later radioactivity was used to treat illnesses, as it was learned that it could cause mutations in plants and animals.
Madame Curie’s example in her research and discoveries surrounding radioactivity inspired many women to become involved in researching the field
1930s—radioactivity became the study of nuclear physics
Nuclear physics=ethical, social, political controversy.
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