Curie
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Dimensions: 18” H X 24” W X 1.5” D. Landscape orientation.
Acrylic paint, open-sourced printed materials overlaid with high gloss varnish.
Original Artwork $750 + shipping.
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Maria Sklodowska Curie
This collage highlights the discoveries and achievements of Marie Sklodowska Curie. Born on November 7, 1867, she was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). She was the first woman to receive a doctorate and become a full professor at the University of Paris. She established the theory of radioactivity, extracted and isolated the elements radium and polonium, discovered radiation therapy for the treatment cancer, contributed money, time, and considerable influence to help the French soldiers during World War 1. Using her scientific expertise, she created, designed, staffed, and fundraised to bring her fleet of portable radiology labs called “Petites Curies” to the World War 1 front, where over 1,000,000 lifesaving X-rays were administered in the field. Marie Sklodowska Curie was admired by Einstein and many others in the male-dominated scientific community. She was a true trailblazer and led the way for women in science. On July 4, 1934, she died at the age of 66, of aplastic anemia from radiation exposure during her scientific research. To find out more about the elements used in this collage, please see an explanation below.
Elements of Art
International radioactive symbol
Nobel Prize in Physics (1903)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911)
A photo of Marie Sklodowska Curie at the Fifth Solvay International Conference on Electrons and Photons
Radium
Physics
Polonium
Chemistry
Radioactivity
WW1
Hero
Picture of a “Petites Curie” portable radiology lab
Diagram of radium (Ra) enhanced Bohr model
Diagram of electron shell (084) polonium
Picture of Curie
Atomic Cloud Over Nagasaki, Japan
Explanation of Elements
The international radiation sign, known as a trefoil, first appeared in 1946, at the University of California, Berkeley Radiation Laboratory.
Nobel Prize in Physics: In1903, the Royal Swedish Academy of Science awarded Marie Curie the Nobel Prize in Physics. She shared the prize with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel. The prize was awarded “in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: In 1911, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Marie Curie the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This award was “in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.”
The Fifth Solvay International Conference on Electrons and Photons was held in October 1927. Prominent physicists from all over the world met to discuss the newly formulated quantum theory. 17 of the 29 participants were or became Nobel Laureates. Back row, left to right: Auguste Piccard, Émile Henriot, Paul Ehrenfest, Édouard Herzen, Théophile de Donder, Erwin Schrödinger, Jules-Émile Verschaffelt, Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Ralph Howard Fowler, Léon Brillouin. Middle row, left to right: Peter Debye, Martin Knudsen, William Lawrence Bragg, Hendrik Anthony Kramers, Paul Dirac, Arthur Compton, Louis de Broglie, Max Born, Niels Bohr. Front row, left to right: Irving Langmuir, Max Planck, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Hendrik Lorentz, Albert Einstein, Paul Langevin, Charles-Eugène Guye, Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Owen Willans Richardson.
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it reacts with nitrogen on exposure to air, forming a black surface layer of radium nitride.
Physics is the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.
Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84. It is a rare and highly radioactive metal.
Chemistry is the science that deals with identifying the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties, and how they interact, combine, and change.
Radioactivity is the emission of ionizing radiation or particles caused by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei.
WW1 was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from July 28, 1914, to November 11, 1918.
A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
A photo of Madame Curie’s daughter, Irene, standing next to one of the first portable radiology laboratories called “Petites Curies.” Curie designed, staffed, and fundraised to bring her fleet to the WWI front, where over 1,000,000 lifesaving X-rays were administered in the field.
Radium (Ra) enhanced Bohr model. In atomic physics, the Bohr model or Rutherford-Bohr model, presented by Niels Bohr and Ernest Rutherford in 1913, is a system consisting of a small, dense nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons.
Diagram of electron shell (084) polonium. This model illustrates how many electrons are in each shell surrounding the nucleus of polonium.
Pictures of Marie Sklodowska Curie from Wikipedia
Atomic Cloud Rises Over Nagasaki, Japan. Photo by Lieutenant Charles Levy, 1945, via Wikimedia Commons.
References:
“Category:Marie Curie.” Category:Marie Curie - Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Marie_Curie.
“Physics: Definition of Physics by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com Also Meaning of Physics.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, www.lexico.com/definition/physics.
“Polonium.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium.
“The Home of Language Data.” Oxford Languages, languages.oup.com/.
“World War I.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I.