Studies into the Effects of Radiation (AQA GCSE Physics)

Studies into the Effects of Radiation

The Discovery of Radiation

• In 1898, physicist Marie Curie discovered a new element which she called radium

  • She described the strange behaviour of radium and other similar elements as ‘radioactivity’

• Working with other physicists, including Henri Becquerel, she discovered the phenomenon of radiation and received the Nobel Prize in 1903 for her work

• She was:

  • The first woman to receive a Nobel Prize

  • The first person to achieve two Nobel Prizes

  • The only person ever to win the Nobel Prize in two fields

Marie Curie was the first person to use the term ‘radioactivity’

Peer Review

• Marie Curie’s findings from her experiments and her conclusions were looked at by lots of other scientists

• This is called peer review

• All good scientific work should be published and peer-reviewed

• By publishing work everyone can benefit from it:

  • Other scientists can learn from the findings

  • The scientist who did the work has their work checked for accuracy

Early Uses of Radiation

• Scientists understanding of radiation has changed with time

  • For example, now it is common knowledge that ionising radiation can be harmful, causing cancer

• But when radium was first discovered this was not known

  • In fact, people thought it was good for human health

  • Radium was put into lots of different products such as cosmetics, toothpaste, cleaning products and even chocolate

• Marie Curie argued that this radium should not be used in these products until its properties were better understood

• In 1927 the first findings that radiation exposure caused an increased risk of cancer was published

• Radiation poisoning was the cause of Marie Curie’s death in 1934 after a lifetime working with radioactive atoms