居里夫人的生平英文介绍

居里夫人简介

居里夫人 Marie Curie（1867-1934）法国籍波兰科学家，研究放射性现象，发现镭和钋两种放射性元素，一生两度获诺贝尔奖。居里夫人 Marie Curie（1867-1934）法国籍波兰科学家，研究放射性现象，发现镭和钋两种放射性元素，一生两度获诺贝尔奖。作为杰出科学家，居里夫人有一般科学家所没有的社会影响。尤其因为是成功女性的先驱，她的典范激励了很多人。很多人在儿童时代就听到她的故事 但得到的多是一个简化和不完整的印象。世人对居里夫人的认识。很大程度上受其次女在1937年出版的传记《居里夫人》（Madame Curie）所影响。这本书美化了居里夫人的生活，把她一生所遇到的曲折都平淡地处理了。美国传记女作家苏珊·昆（Susan Quinn）花了七年时间，收集包括居里家庭成员和朋友的没有公开的日记和传记资料。於去年出版了一本新书：《玛丽亚· 居里：她的一生》（Maria Curie: A Life）,为她艰苦、辛酸和奋斗的生命历程描绘了一幅更详细和深入的图像。

居里夫人：两次荣获诺贝尔奖的伟大科学家

在世界科学史上，玛丽·居里是一个永远不朽的名字。这位伟大的女科学家，以自己的勤奋和天赋，在物理学和化学领域，都作出了杰出的贡献，并因此而成为唯一一位在两个不同学科领域、两次获得诺贝尔奖的著名科学家。

一、靠自学走进巴黎大学

玛丽·居里于1867年出生于波兰华沙，她是家中5个子女中最小的。她的父亲是一名收入十分有限的中学数理教师，妈妈也是中学教员。玛丽的童年是不幸的，她的妈妈得了严重的传染病，是大姐照顾她长大的。后来，妈妈和大姐在她不满10岁时就相继病逝了。她的生活中充满了艰难。这样的生活环境不仅培养了她独立生活的能力，也使她从小就磨炼出了非常坚强的性格。

玛丽从小学习就非常勤奋刻苦，对学习有着强烈的兴趣和特殊的爱好，从不轻易放过任何学习的机会，处处表现出一种顽强的进取精神。从上小学开始，她每门功课都考第一。15岁时，就以获得金奖章的优异成绩从中学毕业。她的父亲早先曾在圣彼得堡大学攻读过物理学，父亲对科学知识如饥似渴的精神和强烈的事业心，也深深地薰陶着小玛丽。她从小就十分喜爱父亲实验室中的各种仪器，长大后她又读了许多自然科学方面的书籍，更使她充满幻想，她急切地渴望到科学世界探索。但是当时的家境不允许她去读大学。19岁那年，她开始做长期的家庭教师，同时还自修了各门功课。这样，直到24岁时，她终于来到巴黎大学理学院学习。她带着强烈的求知欲望，全神贯注地听每一堂课，艰苦的学习使她身体变得越来越不好，但是她的学习成绩却一直名列前茅，这不仅使同学们羡慕，也使教授们惊异，入学两年后，她充满信心地参加了物理学学士学位考试，在30名应试者中，她考了第一名。第二年，她又以第二名的优异成绩，考取了数学学士学位。

1894年初，玛丽接受了法国国家实业促进委员会提出的关于各种钢铁的磁性科研项目。在完成这个科研项目的过程中，她结识了理化学校教师比埃尔·居里，他是一位很有成就的青年科学家。用科学为人类造福的共同意愿使他们结合了。玛丽结婚后，人们都尊敬地称呼她居里夫人。1896年，居里夫人以第一名的成绩，完成了大学毕业生的任职考试。第二年，她又完成了关于各种钢铁的磁性研究。但是，她不满足已取得的成绩，决心考博士，并确定了自己的研究方向。站到了一条新的起跑线上。

二、镭之光

1896年，法国物理学家贝克勒尔发表了一篇工作报告，详细地介绍了他通过多次实验发现的铀元素，铀及其化合物具有一种特殊的本领，它能自动地、连续地放出一种人的肉眼看不见的射线，这种射线和一般光线不同，能透过黑纸使照象底片感光，它同伦琴发现的X射线也不同，在没有高真空气体放电和外加高电压的条件下，却能从铀和铀盐中自动发生。铀及其化合物不断地放出射线，向外辐射能量。这使居里夫人发生了极大的兴趣。这些能量来自于什么地方？这种与众不同的射线的性质又是什么？居里夫人决心揭开它的秘密。1897年，居里夫人选定了自己的研究课题－－对放射性物质的研究。这个研究课题，把她带进了科学世界的新天地。她辛勤地开垦了一片处女地，最终完成了近代科学史上最重要的发现之一－－发现了放射性元素镭，并奠定了现代放射化学的基础，为人类做出了伟大的贡献。

在实验研究中，居里夫人设计了一种测量仪器，不仅能测出某种物质是否存在射线，而且能测量出射线的强弱。她经过反复实验发现：铀射线的强度与物质中的含铀量成一定比例，而与铀存在的状态以及外界条件无关。

居里夫人对已知的化学元素和所有的化合物进行了全面的检查，获得了重要的发现在：一种叫做钍的元素也能自动发出看不见的射线来，这说明元素能发出射线的现象决不仅仅是铀的特性，而是有些元素的共同特性。她把这种现象称为放射性，把有这种性质的元素叫做放射性元素。它们放出的射线就叫“放射线”。她还根据实验结果预料：含有铀和钍的矿物一定有放射性；不含铀和钍的矿物一定没有放射性。仪器检查完全验证了她的预测。她排除了那些不含放射性元素的矿物，集中研究那些有放射性的矿物，并精确地测量元素的放射性强度。在实验中，她发现一种沥青铀矿的放射性强度比预计的强度大得多，这说明实验的矿物中含有一种人们未知的新放射性元素，且这种元素的含量一定很少，因为这种矿物早已被许多化学家精确地分析过了。她果断地在实验报告中宣布了自己的发现，并努力要通过实验证实它。在这关键的时刻，她的丈夫比埃尔·居里也意识到了妻子的发现的重要性，停下了自己关于结晶体的研究，来和她一道研究这种新元素。经过几个月的努力，他们从矿石中分离出了一种同铋混合在一起的物质，它的放射性强度远远超过铀，这就是后来被列在元素周期表上第84位的钋。几个月以后，他们又发现了另一种新元素，并把它取名为镭。但是，居里夫妇并没有立即获得成功的喜悦。当拿到了一点点新元素的化合物时，他们发现原来所做的估计太乐观了。事实上，矿石中镭的含量还不到百万分之一。只是由于这种混合物的放射性极强，所以含有微量镭盐的物质表现出比铀要强几百倍的放射性。

科学的道路从来就不平坦。钋和镭的发现，以及这些放射性新元素的特性，动摇了几世纪以来的一些基本理论和基本概念。科学家们历来都认为，各种元素的原子是物质存在的最小单元，原子是不可分割的、不可改变的。按照传统的观点是无法解释钋和镭这些放射性元素所发出的放射线的。因此，无论是物理学家，还是化学家，虽然对居里夫人的研究工作都感到有兴趣，但是心中都有疑问。尤其是化学家们的态度更为严谨。为了最终证实这一科学发现，也为了进一步研究镭的各种性质，居里夫妇必须从沥青矿石中分离出更多的、并且是纯净的镭盐。

一切未知的世界都是神秘的。在分离新元素的研究工作开始时，他们并不知道新元素的任何化学性质。寻找新元素的唯一线索是它有很强的放射性。他们据此创造了一种新的化学分析方法。但是他们没有钱，没有真正的实验室，只有一些自己购买或设计的简单的仪器。他们出于工作效率的考虑，分头开展研究。由居里先生试验确定镭的特性；居里夫人则继续提炼纯镭盐。

有志者事竟成！大自然的任何奥秘都会都会被那些向它顽强攻关的人们揭开。1902年年底，居里夫人提炼出了十分之一克极纯净的氯化镭，并准确地测定了它的原子量。从此镭的存在得到了证实。镭是一种极难得到的天然放射性物质，它的形体是有光泽的、象细盐一样的白色结晶。在光谱分析中，它与任何已知的元素的谱线都不相同。镭虽然不是人类第一个发现的放射性元素，但却是放射性最强的元素。利用它的强大放射性，能进一步查明放射线的许多新性质。以使许多元素得到进一步的实际应用。医学研究发现，镭射线对于各种不同的细胞和组织，作用大不相同，那些繁殖快的细胞，一经镭的照射很快都被破坏了。这个发现使镭成为治疗癌症的有力手段。癌瘤是由繁殖异常迅速的细胞组成的，镭射线对于它的破坏远比周围健康组织的破坏作用大的多。这种新的治疗方法很快在世界各国发展起来。在法国，镭疗术被称为居里疗法。镭的发现从根本上改变了物理学的基本原理，对于促进科学理论的发展和在实际中的应用，都有十分重要的意义。

三、金子一般的心灵

由于居里夫妇的惊人发现，1903年12月，他们和贝克勒尔一起获得了诺贝尔物理学奖。他们夫妇的科学功勋盖世，然而他们却极端藐视名利，最厌烦那些无聊的应酬。他们把自己的一切都献给了科学事业，而不捞取任何个人私利。在镭提炼成功以后，有人劝他们向政府申请专利权，垄断镭的制造以此发大财。居里夫人对此说：“那是违背科学精神的，科学家的研究成果应该公开发表，别人要研制，不应受到任何限制”。“何况镭是对病人有好处的，我们不应当借此来谋利”。居里夫妇还把得到的诺贝尔奖金，大量地赠送别人。

1906年，居里先生不幸因车祸而去世，居里夫人承受着巨大的痛苦，她决心加倍努力，完成两个人共同的科学志愿。巴黎大学决定由居里夫人接替居里先生讲授物理课。居里夫人成为著名的巴黎大学有史以来第一位女教授，还是在他们夫妇分离出第一批镭盐的时候，就开始了对放射线各种性质的研究。仅1889年到1904年间，他们就先后发表了32篇学术报告，记录了他们在放射科学上探索的足迹。1910年，居里夫人又完成了《放射性专论》一书。她还与人合作，成功地制取了金属镭。1911年，居里夫人又获得诺贝尔化学奖。一位女科学家，在不到10年的时间里，两次在两个不同的科学领域里获得世界科学的最高奖，这在世界科学史上是独一无二的事情！

1914年，巴黎建成了镭学研究院，居里夫人担任了学院的研究指导。以后她继续在大学里授课，并从事放射性元素的研究工作。她毫不吝啬地把科学知识传播给一切想要学习的人。她从16岁开始，成年累月地学习、工作，整整50年了。但她仍不改变那严格的生活方式。她从小就有高度的自我牺牲精神，早年她为了供姐姐上学，甘愿去别人家里做佣人。在巴黎求学期间，为了节约灯油和取暧开支，她每天晚上都在图书馆读书，一直到图书馆关门才走。提取纯镭所需要的沥青铀矿，在当时是很贵重的，他们从自己的生活费中一点一滴地节省，先后买了8、9吨，在居里先生去世后，居里夫人把千辛万苦提炼出来的，价值高达100万金法郎以上的镭，无偿地赠送给了研究治癌的实验室。

1932年，65岁的居里夫人回到祖国，参加“华沙镭研究所”的开幕典礼。居里夫人从青年时代起就远离祖国，到法国求学。但是她时刻也没有忘记自己的祖国。小时候，她的祖国波兰被沙俄侵占，她就非常痛恨侵略者。当他们夫妇从矿物中分离出新元素以后，她把新元素命名为钋。这是因为钋的词根与波兰国名的词根一样。她以此表示对惨遭沙俄奴役的祖国的深切怀念。

1937年7月14日，居里夫人病逝了。她最后死于恶性贫血症。她一生创造、发展了放射科学，长期无畏地研究强烈放射性物质，直至最后把生命贡献给了这门科学。她一生中，共得过包括诺贝尔奖等在内的10种著名奖金，得到国际高级学术机构颁发的奖章16枚；世界各国政府和科研机构授予的各种头衔多达100多个。但是她一如既往地那样谦虚谨慎。伟大的科学家爱因斯坦评价说：“在我认识的所有著名人物里面，居里夫人是唯一不为盛名所颠倒的人。”

1Madame Curie

Madame Curie shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, the honors

for discovering two radioactive elements, radium and polonium. The discovery of

these elements laid the foundation for future discoveries in nuclear physics and

chemistry.

Marie Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw,

Poland. Her early years were strongly influenced by her parents, who were both

educators. She later joined with Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne. This made

Marie the first woman to teach at the university level in France.

The

Nobel Prizes

1911

Marie Curie was the first woman to win two Nobel

prizes. More

A Contribution to the French War Effort -- X-Rays

Marie devised advanced courses and radiology and taught doctors new

techniques. More

Physician and Chemist

Marie and Pierre Curie

worked together in an extended investigation of radioactivity.

Early Years

in Poland

Poland was an occupied and divided country throughout much of

Marie Curie"s life. Marie"s father lost his job for advocating independence from

Russia.

Her Struggle for Higher Education

Under Russian control, Polish

women could not attend college. Marie"s sister, Bronya went to Paris to study

and later helped Marie with her education. Despite a limited knowledge of

French, Marie succeeded with honors at the Sorbonne, where she graduated with

degrees both in mathematics and chemistry. It was still very difficult, as a

woman, for Marie to find work.

Pierre and Marie: Their Life Together

Pierre was a leader in science when he met Marie; he had discovered the

principle of piezoelectricity which is used in the crystal pickup of a record

player. Pierre and Marie were married on July 26, 1895. They later had two

daughters, Irene and Eve.

Discovery of Polonium

1898

Marie"s legacy

to science is that she correctly speculated that the radiation spontaneously

released from the ore was nuclear rather than atomic.

Discovery of Radium

For four years they boiled, stirred, poured and distilled tons of

pitchblends to produce a tiny amount of radium.

The First Nobel Prize

1903

The Curies and Henri Becquerel received the Nobel Prize for physics

for their work on radioactivity, and Marie was granted her doctorate the same

year.

Pierre"s Death

1906

On April 19, 1906, Pierre was killed in a

street accident when he walked in front of a team of horses.

Trips to

America

Marie founded the Radium Institute in Paris. Because the Curies had

not patented the rights to Radium, or the process to produce it, Marie had to

make several trips to America to raise funds.

Marie"s Philosophy

Marie

was a "positivist," rejecting theoretical speculation about human problems in

favor of positive, observable facts.

Marie"s Death

1934

Marie later

had to cut back on her official duties, due to poor health. She died peacefully

on July 4, 1934 in a nursing home.

2

Madame Curie was born Maria

Sklodowski in Warsaw, Poland in 1867, the youngest of five children. When she

was born, Poland was controlled by Russia. Her parents were teachers, and she

learned at an early age the importance of education.

Her mother died

when she was young, and when her father was caught teaching Polish - which had

been made illegal under the Russian government. Manya, as she was called, and

her sisters had to get jobs. After a couple of failed jobs, Manya became a tutor

to a family in the countryside outside Warsaw. She enjoyed her time there, and

was able to send her father money to help support him, and also send some money

to her sister Bronya in Paris who was studying medicine.

Bronya

eventually married another medical student and they set up practice in Paris.

The couple invited Manya to live with them and study at the Sorbonne - a famous

Parisian University. In order to fit in better at the school, Manya changed her

name to the French "Marie." Marie studied physics and mathematics and quickly

received her masters" degrees in both subjects. She remained in Paris after

graduation and started research on magnetism.

For the research she

wanted to do, she needed more space than her small lab. A friend introduced her

to another young scientist, Pierre Curie, who had some extra room. Not only did

Marie move her equipment into his lab, Marie and Pierre fell in love and

married.

A friend of the Curies, A. Henri Becquerel, had been playing

with recently discovered properties of the element uranium. He talked to Pierre

and Marie about those properties and they became interested in them too. Marie

Curie set about investigating the effect, which she named "radio-activity" for

her Doctorate research.

Marie Curie checked many other elements to

determine whether they too were radioactive. She found one, thorium, and also

came across a source of radiation in a mixture called "pitch-blend," which was

much more powerful than either thorium or uranium.

Working together, it

took Marie and Pierre four years to isolate the radioactive source in the

pitch-blend. Marie named it radium. For the discovery of radium, Marie and

Pierre won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, which they shared with their friend

A. Henri Becquerel. Shortly, Marie found that what she had discovered was not

pure radium, but she was able to isolate the element itself after quite a

struggle. For this work, she was given the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911.

During her work, Marie discovered radiation could kill human cells. She

reasoned that if it could kill healthy human cells, it could kill diseased human

cells and went about isolating radium for use in killing tumors.

In 1906

Pierre Curie was offered the position of director of the Physics Laboratory at

the Sorbonne. Before he could take the position, however, he was run over by a

carriage and killed. After her husband died, Marie was offered and took the

position, the first woman to become director of a research laboratory.

During the first World War, Marie Curie went to work for the French

building and designing X-ray machines. Knowing that moving soldiers to a

hospital before they needed surgery was not always possible, she designed the

first mobile X-ray machine and traveled with it along the front lines during the

war.

On July 4, 1934, Marie Curie died in Paris, killed by her own

experiments. She died of radiation poisoning and may have been the first person

to do so. Marie Curie had brought herself up from poverty, struggling to get her

education and succeeding brilliantly. The work she did, she did with patience,

often getting results only after years of careful experimentation, while

struggling for money to support her work. For her struggles, she received two

Nobel Prizes - the first woman to win even one. Through the knowledge she

gained, thousands of lives have been saved.

Great knowledge,

however, is often a two-edged sword. Without the work she did we might not have

many modern cancer treatments, or atomic clocks, or even the computer you"re

viewing this on. But through her work on radioactivity she can also be thought

of as the mother of the atomic bomb.

Marie Curie, or rather Marya Sklodowska, was born in Warsaw on November 7, 1867. At the time, the Polish capital was occupied by the Russians, who were seeking to weaken the local élite but nonetheless tolerated the burgeoning of the positivist doctrine advocated by Auguste Comte. Based on the value of experience and scientific reality, and applied to society, it was for many intellectuals the path of progress; it was to leave an indelible mark on Marya. Born into a family of teachers and brought up in an environment marked by a sense of duty and a lack of money, she led the most Spartan of lives. From the premature death of one of her sisters, and later of her mother, she drew the agnosticism that would later bolster her faith in science. As a brilliant and mature student with a rare gift of concentration, Marya harboured the dream of a scientific career, a concept inconceivable for a woman at that time. But lack of funds meant she was forced to become a private tutor. She made huge financial sacrifices so that her sister Bronia could fulfil her wish of studying medicine in Paris, nurturing the hope that the favour might be returned.

And so, in 1891, the shy Marya arrived in Paris. Ambitious and self-taught, she had but one obsession: to learn. She passed a physics degree with flying colours, and went on to sit a mathematics degree. It was then that a Polish friend introduced her to Pierre Curie, a young man, shy and introvert. In 1895, this free-thinker, acknowledged for his work on crystallography and magnetism, became her husband. One year previously, he had written to her saying how nice it would be "to spend life side by side, in the sway of our dreams: your patriotic dream, our humanitarian dream and our scientific dream."

In her pioneering way, Marie Curie decided, in 1897, to take a physics doctorate. Henri Becquerel, who was studying X-rays, had recently observed that uranium salt left an impression on a photographic plate in spite of its protective envelope. What better subject could there have been for Marie than to try and understand the effect, the energy of these uranic rays? Pierre consented. And so his frail wife set about her work, handling tons of minerals; she noted that another substance, thorium, was "radioactive", a term she herself had coined. Together, they demonstrated in a major discovery that radioactivity was not the result of a chemical reaction but a property of the element or, more specifically, of the atom. Marie then studied pitchblende, a uranic mineral in which she measured a much more intense activity than is present in uranium alone. She deduced that there were other substances besides uranium that were very radioactive, such as polonium and radium, which she discovered in 1898.

In their experiments, Pierre observed the properties of the radiation while Marie, for her part, purified the radioactive elements. Both shared the same, uncanny tenacity, which was all the more admirable given their deplorable living conditions. Their laboratory was nothing more than a miserable hangar, where in winter the temperature dropped to around six degrees. One chemist commented that "it looked more like a stable or a potato cellar". And yet, Marie admitted that "one of our pleasures was to enter our workshop at night; then, all around us, we would see the luminous silhouettes of the beakers and capsules that contained our products". Despite their difficulty at obtaining any advances or loans, Marie and Pierre Curie refused to file a patent application that would have secured them financially; in their eyes, enabling any scientist, French or foreign, to find applications for radioactivity took priority.

Pierre tested radium on his skin. It caused a burn, and then a wound: its effect on man was thus proven. Soon radium was being used to treat malign tumours: Curietherapy was born. In 1903, Marie defended her thesis. Together with Becquerel, the Curies were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery of natural radioactivity. Their happiness was short lived. In 1906, Pierre, weakened by radiation and overworked, was run over by a car. Marie was forced to continue alone. She took charge of educating her two children; she took up the position which her husband had finally obtained at the Sorbonne, and thus became the first woman to be appointed professor there.

She also had to fight the prejudices of her day: hatred of foreigners and sexism which, in 1911, prevented her from entering the Academy of Science. And yet, soon after, she was honoured with a Nobel Prize for Chemistry for determining the atomic weight of radium. But her real joy was "easing human suffering". The founding of the Radium Institute by the University of Paris and the Pasteur Institute in 1914 would enable her to fulfil her humanitarian wish.

But then war broke out. "We must act, act," she would say, motivating her daughter Irène to follow suit. She felt that X-rays would help to locate shrapnel and bullets, and facilitate surgery; also, that it was important not to move the wounded, whenever possible. And so she created X-ray vans. But she did not stop there, and went on to provide equipment for hospitals. The only protection at that time was a metal screen and fabric gloves. All she needed to do was convince reticent doctors and find well-trained manipulators. No sooner said than done. Marie trained 150 female manipulators.

With the war over, she went back to work in her institute, with Irène by her side. Marie ran the research laboratory while Dr Claudius Regaud headed the applied biology laboratory. Their co-operation proved harmonious, sharing as they did similar ideals and the same disinterest in financial matters. Physicians and chemists provided the radium, and physicists treated cancer patients. Marie set about collecting funds and raw materials, the price of which had soared, going as far afield as the United States; but she found it hard to accept that dark economic interests should prevail.

Marie died of leukaemia in July, 1934, exhausted and almost blinded, her fingers burnt and stigmatised by "her" dear radium. This sixty-seven-year-old woman, who, according to Dr Claudius Regaud, "under a cold exterior and the utmost reserve (...) concealed in reality an abundance of delicate and generous feelings", had been exposed to incredible levels of radiation. Other researchers after her, her daughter in particular, would also pay the price. In January, together with her husband, Frédéric Joliot, Irène, who had been working in the same laboratory and with the same relentless determination as her mother, discovered artificial radioactivity, for which she, too, was awarded the Nobel Prize. Radioactivity is the starting point for cancer treatment, for the dating techniques used on ancient objects, rocks and the universe, and for molecular biology and modern genetics; it is also the source of nuclear energy and the atomic bomb. The other side of the coin...

玛丽娅·斯可罗多夫斯卡娅，即著名的居里夫人，被誉为“镭的母亲”。

居里夫人1867年11月7日诞生于沙俄侵略者统治下的波兰首都华沙，是家中5个子女中最小的。父亲是华沙高等学校的物理学教授。她的童年是不幸的，母亲得了严重的传染病，是大姐照顾她长大的。后来，母亲和大姐在她不满10岁时就相继病逝了。她的生活中充满了艰难。这样的生活环境不仅培养了她独立生活的能力，也使她从小就磨炼出了非常坚强的性格。

玛丽从小学习就非常勤奋刻苦，对学习有着强烈的兴趣和特殊的爱好，从不轻易放过任何学习的机会，处处表现顽强的进取精神。从上小学开始，她每门功课都考第一。15岁时，就以获得金奖章的优异成绩从中学毕业。她的父亲早先曾在圣彼得堡大学攻读过物理学，父亲对科学知识如饥似渴的精神和强烈的事业心，也深深地薰陶着小玛丽。她从小就十分喜爱父亲实验室中的各种仪器，长大后她又读了许多自然科学方面的书籍，更使她充满幻想，她急切地渴望到科学的世界中去探索。但是当时的家境不允许她上大学。1886年，她开始做长期的家庭教师，同时还自修了各门功课。1891年，她到巴黎大学深造，攻读物理学和数学，并获得了这两个硕士学位。学业完成后，她本打算返回祖国为受奴役的波兰人民服务，但是，与法国年轻物理学家皮埃尔·居里（Pierre Curie,1859～1906）的相识，改变了她的计划。1895年，她与皮埃尔结婚，1897年生了一个女儿，一个未来的诺贝尔奖金获得者。 法国物理学家贝克勒尔的研究工作引起了居里夫人的关注。贝克勒尔在检查一种稀有矿物质“铀盐”时，继伦琴（Wilhelm Roentgen 1845-1923）发现X射线之后又发现了一种“铀射线”人们称之为贝克勒尔射线。贝克勒尔发现的射线，引起了居里夫人极大兴趣，射线放射出来的力量是从哪里来的？居里夫人看到当时欧洲所有的实验室还没有人对铀射线进行过深入的研究，于是决心闯进这个领域。但是，由于当时学校的设备房屋极为紧张，无法给居里夫人提供好的实验条件和处所， 校长经过皮埃尔多次请求，才允许居里夫人使用一间潮湿的小屋作理化实验。居里夫妇的实验室条件极差，夏天，因为顶棚是玻璃的，里面被太阳晒得像一个烤箱；冬天，又冷得人都快冻僵了。居里夫妇克服了人们难以想像的困难，为了心中的理想辛勤地奋斗着。

居里夫人受过高等化学教育，具有丰富的化学知识。她在研究铀盐矿石时想到，没有什么理由可以证明铀是惟一能发射射线的化学元素。她根据门捷列夫的元素周期律排列的元素，逐一进行测定，很快发现含钍元素的化合物，也能自动发出射线，与铀射线相似，强度也相像。居里夫人认识到这种现象绝不只是铀的特性，必须给它起一个新名称。居里夫人提议叫它“放射性”，铀、钍等有这种特殊“放射”功能的物质，叫作“放射性元素”。

对大量能够收集到的矿物进行测定之后，居里夫人发现一种沥青铀矿的放射性强度比预计的强度大得多。 经过仔细的研究后发现，这些沥青铀矿中铀和钍的含量无法解释她观察到的放射性的强度。这种反常的而且过强的放射性是哪里来的？只能有一种解释：这些沥青矿物中含有一种少量的比铀和钍的放射性作用强得多的新元素。居里夫人在以前所做的试验中，已经检查过当时所有已知的元素了。居里夫人断定，这是一种人类还不知道的新元素。

居里夫人的发现吸引了皮埃尔的注意，居里夫妇一起向未知元素进军。在潮湿的工作室里，经过居里夫妇的合力攻关，1898年7月，他们宣布发现了这种新元素，它比纯铀放射性要强400倍。为了纪念居里夫人的祖国——波兰，新元素被命名为钋（波兰的意思）。

1898年12月，居里夫妇又根据实验事实宣布，他们又发现了第二种放射性元素，这种新元素的放射性比钋还强。他们把这种新元素命名为“镭”。可是，当时谁也不能确认他们的发现，因为按化学界的传统，一个科学家在宣布他发现新元素的时候，必须拿到实物，并精确地测定出它的原子量。而居里夫人的报告中却没有针和镭的原子量，手头也没有镭的样品。居里夫妇决定拿出实物来证明。当时，藏有钋和镭的沥青铀矿，是一种很昂贵的矿物，主要产在波希米亚的圣约阿希母斯塔尔矿，人们炼制这种矿物，从中提取制造彩色玻璃用的铀盐。对于生活十分清贫的居里夫妇来说，哪有钱来支付这件工作所必需的费用呢？他们的智慧补足了财力，他们预料，提出铀之后，矿物里所含的新放射性元素一定还存在，那么一定能从提炼铀盐后的矿物残渣中找到它们。经过无数次的周折，奥地利政府决定馈赠一吨废矿渣给居里夫妇，并答应若他们将来还需要大量的矿渣，可以在最优惠的条件下供应。为了提炼镭，居里夫人立即投入提取实验，她每次把20多公斤的废矿渣放入冶炼锅熔化，连续几小时不停地用一根粗大的铁棍搅动沸腾的材料，而后从中提取仅含百万分之一的微量物质。他们从1898年一直工作到1902年，经过几万次的提炼，处理了几十吨矿石残渣，终于得到0.l克的镭盐，测定出了它的原子量是225。

镭宣告诞生了！

居里夫妇证实了镭元素的存在，使全世界都开始关注放射性现象。镭的发现在科学界爆发了一次真正的革命。居里夫人以（放射性物质的研究）为题，完成了她的博士论文。1903年，居里夫人获得巴黎大学的物理学博士学位。同年，居里夫妇和贝克勒尔共同荣获诺贝尔物理学奖。

1906年皮埃尔·居里不幸被马车撞死，但居里夫人却未因此而倒下，她仍然继续研究，于1910年与德比恩（Andre Debierne,1874-1949年，于1899年从沥青铀矿中发现放射性元素锕Ac）一起分离出纯净的金属镭。

1914年第一次世界大战爆发时，居里夫人用X-射线设备装备了救护车，并将其开到了前线。国际红十字会任命她为放射学救护部门的领导。在她女儿依伦(Irene Curie)和克莱因(Martha Klein)的协助下，居里夫人在镭研究所为部队医院的医生和护理员开了一门课，教他们如何使用X-射线这项新技术。20世纪20年代末期，居里夫人的健康状况开始走下坡路，长期受放射线的照射使她患上白血病，终于在1934年7月4日不治而亡。在此之前几个月，她的女儿依伦（Irene Curie)和女婿约里奥-居里(Joliot-Curie)宣布发现人工放射性（他们俩因此而荣获1935年诺贝尔化学奖）。

居里夫人的大半生都是清贫的，提取镭的艰苦过程是在简陋的条件下完成的。居里夫妇拒绝为他们的任何发现申专利，为的是让每个人都能自由地利用他们的发现。他们把诺贝尔奖金和其奖金都用到了以后的研究中去了。他们研究工作的杰出应用之一就是应用放射性治疗癌症。

居里夫妇证实了镭元素的存在，使全世界都开始关注放射性现象。镭的发现在科学界爆发了一次真正的革命。居里夫人以（放射性物质的研究）为题，完成了她的博士论文。1903年，居里夫人获得巴黎大学的物理学博士学位。同年，居里夫妇和贝克勒尔共同荣获诺贝尔物理学奖。

1906年皮埃尔·居里不幸被马车撞死，但居里夫人却未因此而倒下，她仍然继续研究，于1910年与德比恩（Andre Debierne,1874-1949年，于1899年从沥青铀矿中发现放射性元素锕Ac）一起分离出纯净的金属镭。居里夫人继续研究了镭在在化学和医学上的应用，并且因分离出纯的金属镭而又获得1911年诺贝尔化学奖。

1914年第一次世界大战爆发时，居里夫人用X-射线设备装备了救护车，并将其开到了前线。国际红十字会任命她为放射学救护部门的领导。在她女儿依伦(Irene Curie)和克莱因(Martha Klein)的协助下，居里夫人在镭研究所为部队医院的医生和护理员开了一门课，教他们如何使用X-射线这项新技术。20世纪20年代末期，居里夫人的健康状况开始走下坡路，长期受放射线的照射使她患上白血病，终于在1934年7月4日不治而亡。在此之前几个月，她的女儿依伦（Irene Curie)和女婿约里奥-居里(Joliot-Curie)宣布发现人工放射性（他们俩因此而荣获1935年诺贝尔化学奖）。

居里夫人的大半生都是清贫的，提取镭的艰苦过程是在简陋的条件下完成的。居里夫妇拒绝为他们的任何发现申专利，为的是让每个人都能自由地利用他们的发现。他们把诺贝尔奖金和其奖金都用到了以后的研究中去了。他们研究工作的杰出应用之一就是应用放射性治疗癌症。

研究领域：

放射物理、化学、数学

作品:

1、发现了放射性元素钋(Po)和镭(Ra)

2、提出了-射线（现在已知它是由电子组成的）是带负电荷的微粒的观点。

曾获奖项：

居里夫人一生中，共得过包括诺贝尔奖等在内的10种著名奖金，得到国际高级学术机构颁发的奖章16枚；世界各国政府和科研机构授予的各种头衔多达100多个。但是她一如既往地那样谦虚谨慎。伟大的科学家爱因斯坦评价说：“在我认识的所有著名人物里面，居里夫人是唯一不为盛名所颠倒的人。

1、1903年，居里夫妇和贝克勒尔共同荣获诺贝尔物理学奖。

2、1911年因分离出纯的金属镭而获诺贝尔化学奖。

Madam Curie is a French professor of physics. She was born in Poland in 1867. In 1891 she went to study in Paris University because at that time women were not admitted to universities in Poland. When she was studying in Paris, she lived a poor life, but she worked very hard. In 1895 she married Pierre Curie, and then they worked together on the research into radioactive matter. They discovered two kinds of radioactive matter----polonium and radium. In 1904 she and her husband were given the Nobel Prize for physics. In 1906 Pierre died, but Marie went on working. She received a second Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. So she became the first scientist in the world to win two Nobel Prizes