Home > Science Fact Finder > General Science and Technology - For What Accomplishments Did Marie Curie Receive A Nobel Prize?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

For what accomplishments did Marie Curie receive a Nobel Prize?

Polish-born French physicist (a scientist specializing in the interaction between energy and matter) Marie Curie (1867-1934) received two Nobel Prizes—one in physics in 1903 and one in chemistry in 1911. She and her husband Pierre Curie (1859-1906), along with A. H. Becquerel (1852-1908), were awarded the prize in 1903 for their work on radioactivity (the emission of particles from decaying atomic nuclei). While investigating the properties of uranium and thorium, Curie discovered two new radioactive elements in the uranium-containing mineral pitchblende; radium and polonium.

In 1911, Marie Curie won her second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry. She was awarded this prize for her study of the chemical and medical uses of radium, as well as for the isolation of the pure metal radium.

Sources: McMurray, Emily J., and...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Inventions And Fairs
   1. Who invented the Xerox™ machine?
   2. Who invented the electron microscope?
   3. What is the formula for invisible ink?
   4. Who invented velcro™?
   5. Who invented teflon?
   6. Who invented the zipper?
   7. Which scientific discoveries were made accidentally?
   8. What is the origin of blue jeans?
   9. Which tools were used by Neanderthal man?
   10. Who invented the Slinky™?
   11. Who invented Rubik's cube™?
   12. What is the origin of the fire alarm box?
   13. How does a breathalyzer determine the alcohol level of the breath?
   14. How are scratch and sniff cards made?
   15. What is the name of the chemical used in watches to make them glow in the dark?
   16. When was cement first used?
   17. How are compact discs (CDs) made?
   18. How are colored fireworks made?
   19. Why are the letters all mixed up on the typewriter keyboard?
   20. When was the first world's fair?
   21. What is contained in the time capsule buried at the site of the New York World's Fair in 1940?
2. Accomplishments
   1. Who was the first American to receive a Nobel Prize?
   2. Who was the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize and how many women have received the prize?
   3. What were the discoveries of John Bardeen, the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in the same field?
   4. For what accomplishments did Marie Curie receive a Nobel Prize?
   5. What is the National Inventors Hall of Fame?
3. Patents And Trademarks
   1. What types of patents are available?
   2. What is the Guzman prize?
   3. How long does a patent a trademark, or a copyright protect the holder?
   4. What cannot be patented?
   5. What is the difference between the symbols ™ and ® when used with a trademark?
   6. Which patent was issued to a U.S. president?
   7. For what is Percy Lavon Julian noted?
   8. Which patents were issued to Mark Twain?
4. Oddities, Hoaxes, And Accidents
   1. What was the world's greatest fraud?
   2. What is the Bermuda Triangle?
   3. What is a jackalope?
   4. Which industrial accidents have become major disasters?
   5. What was the Great Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919?
5. Technological Achievements
   1. Which scientific and technological event was the most important in U.S. history?
   2. What are the ten outstanding engineering achievements of the last thirty years?
   3. What is "High Technology" or "High Tech"?
   4. What is the new science of chaos?
   5. In which industries are robots being used?
   6. What does the acronym "LASER" stand for?
   7. What is holography?
6. Weapons
   1. Who invented the bowie knife?
   2. When was the Colt revolver patented?
   3. When and where was gunpowder invented?
   4. Who invented dynamite?
   5. What was the Manhattan Project?
   6. What is a nuclear winter?

1. Atomic Bomb