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Biography of Marie and Pierre Curie Essay

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After doing some research over Marie and Pierre Curie I was able to put together this paper. This paper contains information about the life of Pierre and Marie Curie and their significance to physics and science in general. Pierre and Marie Curie are best known for their pioneering work in the study of radioactivity. The couple’s work led to their discovery of the elements radium and polonium (Dick). Pierre Curie was born on May 15, 1859. He was born in Paris, France. Pierre’s parents were Eugene Curie and Sophie-Claire Depoully Curie. Pierre had one older brother, Jacques Curie. Eugene was a scientist who gave up his dreams of a scientific career in order to support the needs of his family. It was through his medical practice …show more content…

Unsurprisingly, the two brothers began to experiment together. Their work led to the discovery of piezoelectricity which is the electric polarization caused by compression or expansion of crystals in a specific direction (Bailey). The brothers conducted more experiments to further study the new phenomenon. They also learned that crystals are compressed when an electric field is applied. Alternating currents could make the crystals vibrate at high ultrahigh frequencies. Today’s sound equipment is based in this phenomenon. The piezoelectric quartz balance was invented by Pierre and Jacques. Their invention made the way for modern quartz watches and radio transmitters (Bailey). Years later Pierre took up a new job at the School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry in Paris. When Pierre first started teaching he wasn’t much older than his students. He struggled to make new friends due to his shy and reserved nature. However, after working closely with him, Pierre’s students came to admire and respect him (Bailey). Pierre pursued his own studies when he wasn’t teaching. Within the first couple of years of teaching he published two papers on crystallography. He didn’t have his own laboratory in which to work, and at the institution space and equipment was scarce. During his off hours, Pierre would sometimes use students’ laboratories or set up his equipment in the hallway (Bailey). Later,

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