We are all aware of the deadly impact of radiation disasters throughout history. Among these, the most common effect of radiation on the body, when exceeding safe levels, can lead to cellular mutations, easily causing cancer, reducing white blood cells, causing hypoplasia of vital organs, and potentially leading to death.
In addition to being a quick and painful killer, radiation also holds surprising secrets. One of these is the story of the personal belongings of physicist Marie Curie, which are contaminated with radiation and can maintain this state for thousands of years.
On July 4, 1934, Marie Curie passed away due to aplastic anemia. This condition prevented her blood from regenerating due to radiation exposure. Prior to that, the radioactive materials also caused her to develop cataracts, leading to blindness.
Even to this day, her body remains radioactive and is placed in a coffin lined with 2.5 cm of lead to prevent radiation from spreading into the surrounding environment.
Nearly 100 years after Marie Curie’s death, many of her personal items are still radioactive. Visitors who wish to see Marie Curie’s manuscripts in the library are required to wear protective suits because they will continue to be radioactive for another 1,600 years.
- Marie Curie – From a Little Worker to a Two-Time Nobel Laureate
- Scientists Who Sacrificed Their Lives for Their Profession
- Great Scientists Who Sacrificed Themselves for Their Cause
Marie Skłodowska-Curie (November 7, 1867 – July 4, 1934) was a Polish-French physicist and chemist, renowned for her pioneering research in the field of radioactivity. She was the first person to be honored with two Nobel Prizes in two different fields, physics and chemistry.
Portrait of physicist – chemist Marie Curie.
Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, together developed the findings of French physicist Henri Becquerel, that uranium is radioactive. By 1898, she and her husband had discovered a new radioactive element. This duo named the element “polonium”, resembling the name of Poland, Marie Curie’s homeland.
Pierre Curie and Marie Curie in the laboratory.
However, after more than 100 years, many of Marie Curie’s personal items, including clothing, furniture, cookbooks, and laboratory notebooks, remain contaminated with radiation.
Marie Curie’s notebook – a treasure of global science – is currently preserved in a lead box at the French national library. It is known that this notebook is contaminated with Radium 226 and has a half-life of 1,600 years (meaning that after 1,600 years, the amount of this radioactive material will reduce to half of its original quantity).
All visitors wishing to behold this notebook must sign a waiver accepting full responsibility for any incidents (if any) and must wear a fully protective suit.
Marie Curie’s notebook.
