In her endeavor to find a chemical compound comparable to uranium, she would make multiple insightful discoveries. This electrometer fabricated by her husband and brother-in-law worked based on the piezoelectric effect providing insight into materials that gave off weak electrical currents. Where the l’Academie de Sciences fell short in their attention with Becquerel’s discovery, Marie didn’t and was set on a path of research into the strange “uranium rays.” Working with the tools amongst her ranks, Marie used an electrometer at her disposal. Like her husband before her, Marie sought recognition through the publication of her own doctoral thesis. This experiment would be an important footnote in his later accidental discovery of spontaneous radiation and Marie Curie’s inspiration for research. He explained by example that when uranium-based crystals were exposed to sunlight they would leave an everlasting shadow on photographic plates, even when wrapped in thick black paper. On February 24, 1896, Becquerel would stand before an assembly presenting his newfound discoveries armed with evidence. Inspired by Roentgen’s revelation before him, Becquerel was inclined to find his own discovery in x-ray science by reaching for a connection between invisible radiation and phosphorescence. Wilhelm Rontgen amazed the world on December 28th, 1895, with his discovery of X-rays, and French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel was just as impressed. But bound for much more, Marie would spark interest in writing her own doctoral thesis and soon a research topic would present itself. Here she would conduct further research into her husband’s discoveries in magnetism, specifically into the properties of the magnetism of steel. In the same year, Pierre would publish his doctoral thesis on the connection between temperature and magnetism giving birth to what we know today as “Curie’s Law.” By 1897 the couple would share the birth of their daughter Irene, and soon after Pierre would help secure Marie a job in the school’s laboratory. The couple quickly bonded over their common interests in natural sciences and by July 1895 they would be married. Pierre resided at the School of Physics and Chemistry as a professor, and Marie as a student studying physics and mathematics. Marie and Pierre Curie first laid eyes on one another in 1894 at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. A heartbreaking reality would soon set in that affected more than just Grace, but those who shared the familiar title of “dial painter.” And before long, they would share a new title, “The Radium Girls.” This would be only the beginning of the oddities surrounding Grace Fryer’s life. But why here? How had she made this handkerchief glow before her? Was she infected in some way? They were told countless times that it was perfectly safe and once again when a question arose about the method of making sure the tip of the paintbrush was extra pointy by placing it between their lips and wetting it with their tongues. Sure, the radium glowed there, that was the point. Grace couldn’t help but think back to her time working as a dial painter at a radium factory in Orange, New Jersey. Alarmed by the sight, Grace nearly fell backward. As Grace proceeded to remove the handkerchief from her nose to fold it in half to try again, she stopped dead in her tracks. When she was safely out of range of sight and sound, she blew hard into a handkerchief she had taken from her pocket. įeeling congested Grace Fryer excused herself from the front office of the bank, withdrawing to privacy to blow her nose.
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