A Few Facts from the History of Science and Experimental Research

Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium

1. Madame Curie was born in Warsaw on 7 November, 1867. Her father was a teacher of science and mathematics in a school in the town, and from him little Marya Sklodovska—which was her Polish name— learned her first lessons in science. Marya's wish was to study at the Sor-bonne in Paris, and after many years of waiting she finally left her na­tive land in 1891.

2. In Paris Marya began a course of hard study and simple living. She determined to work for two Master's degrees—one in Physics, the other in Mathematics. Thus she had to work twice as hard as the ordi­nary student. Yet she had scarcely enough money to live on. She lived in the poorest quarter of Paris. Night after night, after her hard day's work at the University, she got to her poorly furnished room and worked at her books steadily for hours. Sometimes she had no more than a bag of cherries. Though she was often weak and ill, she worked in this way for four years. She had chosen her course and nothing could turn her from it.

3. Among the many scientists Marya met and worked with in Paris was Pierre Curie. Pierre Curie, born in 1859 in Paris, was the son of a doctor, and from early childhood he had been fascinated by science.

At sixteen he was a Bachelor of Science, and he took his Master's degree in Physics when he was eighteen. When he met Marya Sklodovska he was thirty-five years old and was famous throughout Europe for his discoveries in magnetism. But in spite of the honour he had brought to France by his discoveries, the French Government could only give him a very little salary as a reward, and the University of Paris refused him a laboratory of his own for his researches.

4. Pierre Curie and Marya Sklodovska, both of whom loved science more than anything else, very soon became the closest friends. They worked together constantly and discussed the many problems of their researches. After little more than a year they fell in love with each other, and in 1895 Marya Sklodovska became Mme Curie. Theirs was not only to be a very happy marriage but also one of the greatest scientific part­nerships.

Marie has been the greatest woman scientist of her day but she was a mother too, a very loving one. There were their two little girls Irene and Eve.

The word "science" seems to possess miraculous power. "If you are told "science", then agree without any objec­tions", this is the statement of a well-known French physi­cist L. Brillouin describing the role of science in the life of society today, the faith in the ability of science to provide an answer to any question and to solve the most complicated problem. Constant production of new ideas, extension of our knowledge of nature, and rejection of established ideas are part of the normal development of science.

I. Newton (1642-1727), the great English scientist, per­formed many experiments in his early years. According to Newton himself, his first physical experiment was carried out in 1658 when he was sixteen years old. Newton per­formed many experiments with light and found that white light was made up of rays of different colours and that each particular kind of coloured ray was differently bent when it fell on a glass surface at the angle. By the time he was 25, Newton had formed all his main thoughts on gravitation and the main ideas of his "Optics".

B. Franklin (1706-1790) is acknowledged to be the found­er of the theory of atmospheric electricity. At the time when theories to explain electricity were neither complete nor well founded he began to experiment, and proved the lightning to be an electrical phenomenon. He finally invent­ed the lightning rod-means of protection against the disas­trous effects of lightning.

T. Edison (1847-1931), well known throughout the world, began to experiment when he was ten or eleven years of age, his inclination being towards chemistry. As he had no labor­atory he used for his chemical experiments the ordinarycellar of the house. Many years had passed before he could dispose of laboratories and workshops of his own, that were to become huge research centres employing hundreds of people and maintaining contacts with world-known scien­tists and inventors.

N. Bohr (1885-1962), the great Danish physicist, went to work at Rutherford's laboratory in Manchester in 1912. Working at this laboratory he created his model of the atom. His model gave the impetus to the development of quantum mechanics.

In the second half of the 19th century the pioneers in Russian electrical engineering P. Yablochkov and A. Lodygin carried out a series of experiments. Yablochkov realized the advantages of the alternating current and since that practical application of alternating current transformers has begun. Lodygin's experiments resulted in the invention of tungsten filament lamps that gave rise to a real advance in the field of electric lighting.

The outstanding Soviet scientist Academician N. Semyonov, one of the founders of chemical physics, discovered exceptionally important events within chemical reactions. To explain them he introduced the theory of chain reactions which has to a large extent determined the development of chemical kinetics. Modern industry uses the chain reaction concept to obtain most important chemical products.

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What are Laboratories?

Any laboratory is a place where scientists must carry out experimental study in any branch of science for the purpose to advance men's knowledge or to apply scientific principles in testing, analyses and special application of natural laws. The word' "laboratory" denotes any room or building where men are to carry out investigation in tech­niques and sciences.

The word 'laboratory' can also denote the work-room of a chemist, or a testing-room of an industry.

In early days people called the place for chemical work simply a workshop to make drugs. Later' chemists had to use the workshops to make chemical substances for the me­tallurgical industry or textiles, home life¹ and so on.

Among the laboratories of the world we may note the laboratory of the Royal Institution of Britain established in 1800 and devoted to the applied sciences.² The laboratory soon became the seat of activity where such great scientists as M. Faraday and J. Tyndall might conduct research in pure sciences.³

Nowadays laboratories have to be introduced into educa­tional institutions to teach scientific and technical know­ledge by means of experiments. New laboratories will have to provide for more departments for research in pure sciences and for application of science to industrial purposes where skilful industrial workers, engineers and scientists will be able to carry on their important work.

In a chemical laboratory one can see different gases, including illuminating gas, oxygen and hydrogen kept in heavy tanks under high pressure and laboratory tables with one or two holes in them connected to the suction fan for carrying off fumes and gases as well. Besides in a chemical laboratory there are many bottles with reagents, test-tubes, spirit lamps, filter paper and necessary chemicals. In such laboratories students study density, viscosity, vapour pres­sure and other properties of materials. They also carry out scientific experiments including the study of chemical and physical processes.

In other laboratories one can see different types of in­stallations, such as for boiling, cooling and condensing water, for freezing different materials, for growing crystals of diamond, garnet, etc. The materials used in such labora­tories are coal, oil, gas, compressed air and other working bodies.

In some laboratories electronic computers are being worked out.

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