居禮夫人與放射科學
MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE opened up the science of radioactivity. She is best known as the discoverer of the radioactive elements polonium and radium and as the first person to win two Nobel prizes. For scientists and the public, her radium was a key to a basic change in our understanding of matter and energy. Her work not only influenced the development of fundamental science but also ushered in a new era in medical research and treatment.
瑪麗亞·斯克沃多夫斯.居禮(Marie Sklodowska Curie)開創了放射科學，她最著名的是發現放射性元素-釙(polonium)與鐳(radium)且是首位拿到兩個諾貝爾獎。對科學家及大眾來說，鐳的發現改變了我們對物質和能源的基本認知。她的功勞不只影響了科學的主流發展，並且為醫學研究及療法建立新的里程碑。
X-rays and Uranium Rays
MARIE CURIE'S CHOICE of a thesis topic was influenced by two recent discoveries by other scientists. In December 1895, about six months after the Curies married, German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered a kind of ray that could travel through solid wood or flesh and yield photographs of living people's bones. Roentgen dubbed these mysterious rays X-rays, with X standing for unknown. In recognition of his discovery, Roentgen in 1901 became the first Nobel laureate in physics.
X射線和鈾射線
居禮夫人對論文主題的選擇是受其他當代科學家的兩個新發現所影響。1895年12月，居禮夫婦結婚約六個月後，德國物理學家，威廉˙倫琴(Wilhelm Roentgen)發現一種射線可以穿透實木或人體並可在螢光屏上顯示人體骨骼，倫琴稱這神秘的射線為X射線，X表示未知。為表揚他的發現，於1901年，倫琴成為首屆諾貝爾物理學獎得主。
In early 1896, only a few of months after Roentgen's discovery, French physicist Henri Becquerel reported to the French Academy of Sciences that uranium compounds, even if they were kept in the dark, emitted rays that would fog a photographic plate. He had come upon this discovery accidentally. Despite Becquerel's intriguing finding, the scientific community continued to focus its attention on Roentgen's X-rays, neglecting the much weaker Becquerel rays or uranium rays.
1896年初，倫琴發現X射線的幾個月後，法國物理學家亨利‧貝克勒（Henri Becquerel） 向法國科學院（French Academy of Sciences）提出報告，即使將鈾的化合物放在黑暗中，它仍會放射出射線，使照相底片變黑。他是在意外的情況下發現這件事。儘管有這個驚人的發現，科學界仍將注意力放在倫琴的X射線，而忽略了貝克勒射線或鈾射線。
THE IGNORED URANIUM RAYS appealed to Marie Curie. Since she would not have a long bibliography of published papers to read, she could begin experimental work on them immediately. The director of the Paris Municipal School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry, where Pierre was professor of physics, permitted her to use a crowded, damp storeroom there as a lab.
這被忽視的鈾射線吸引著居禮夫人，在沒有充足的文獻參考下，她只能動手實驗。巴黎高等物理化工學院(Paris Municipal School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry)的校長允許她使用一間擁擠潮濕的儲藏室作為實驗室，而居禮先生(Pierre)正是裡頭的物理教授。
A clever technique was her key to success. About 15 years earlier, Pierre and his older brother, Jacques, had invented a new kind of electrometer, a device for measuring extremely low electrical currents. Marie now put the Curie electrometer to use in measuring the faint currents that can pass through air that has been bombarded with uranium rays. The moist air in the storeroom tended to dissipate the electric charge, but she managed to make reproducible measurements.
她成功的關鍵是熟練的操作技巧，約十五年前(西元1880年)，皮埃爾和他的哥哥雅克(Pual-Jacques Curie)就已發明能測得極細微電流的新型驗電器。居禮夫人當時用此驗電器測量空氣中受鈾射線高速撞擊後所產生的微弱電流。雖然儲藏室的溼氣易使電荷散失，但她仍設法創造出可重複使用的測量方式。
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