radioactive women

[AntonioLao]

In 1935, Einstein wrote a memoriam for the late Madame Marie Curie (1867-1934). She can be considered the first of the two radioactive women who were both awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. The second was Maria-Goeppert-Mayer (1906-1972). Marie Curie devoted her life together with husband Pierre for research on the radioactive phenomena of matter discovered by Henri Becquerel in 1896. Within the lifespan of their researches, they discovered more than 40 radioactive elements and have removed almost all the mysteries surrounding radioactivity. In honor of her works, synthetic element with atomic number 96 was named curium. Incidentally, curium can be made from plutonium 239 by bombardment with helium ions accelerated in the cyclotron: ²³⁹Pu₉₄+He₂→Cm₉₆+n₀. The nuclide Cmis known as α-particle emitter with ½life about 5 months. Marie and Pierre Curie together with Henri Becquerel were awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics. Because of the danger of radioactive exposure, Madame Curie contracted a rare form of blood disease and suffered a painful death at the end of her life.

In 1963, Maria Goeppert-Mayer was also awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics recognizing her works with others concerning nuclear structures called the nuclear shell model. Although the validity of this model was quite questionable among physicists of the time, surprisingly, it was used successfully to explain not only the main features of the magic number phenomena, but also more detailed properties such as spins, magnetic moments, and level spectra of many nuclei. Incidentally, the magic numbers are a sequence of numbers which indicate nuclei stability when either the number of protons or the number of neutrons is equal to one of the following numbers: 2, 8, 14, 20, 28, 50, 82, and 126. Atomic nuclei consisting of such a magic number of nucleons have a higher average binding energy per nucleon than would be expected based upon calculations given by the semi-empirical mass formula, and hence are more stable against nuclear decay. The unusual stability of isotopes having magic numbers means that transuranium elements can be created with extremely large nuclei and yet not be subjected to the extremely rapid radioactive decay normally associated with high atomic numbers.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Marie Curie

[AntonioLao]

40 high achiever women who received Nobel Prizes are:

The Nobel Prize in Physics
1963
Maria Goeppert-Mayer
1903
Marie Curie
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
2009
Ada E. Yonath
1964
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
1935
Irène Joliot-Curie
1911
Marie Curie
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
2009
Elizabeth H. Blackburn
2009
Carol W. Greider
2008
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
2004
Linda B. Buck
1995
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
1988
Gertrude B. Elion
1986
Rita Levi-Montalcini
1983
Barbara McClintock
1977
Rosalyn Yalow
1947
Gerty Cori
The Nobel Prize in Literature
2009
Herta Müller
2007
Doris Lessing
2004
Elfriede Jelinek
1996
Wislawa Szymborska
1993
Toni Morrison
1991
Nadine Gordimer
1966
Nelly Sachs
1945
Gabriela Mistral
1938
Pearl Buck
1928
Sigrid Undset
1926
Grazia Deledda
1909
Selma Lagerlöf
The Nobel Peace Prize
2004
Wangari Maathai
2003
Shirin Ebadi
1997
Jody Williams
1992
Rigoberta Menchú Tum
1991
Aung San Suu Kyi
1982
Alva Myrdal
1979
Mother Teresa
1976
Betty Williams
1976
Mairead Corrigan
1946
Emily Greene Balch
1931
Jane Addams
1905
Bertha von Suttner
The Prize in Economic Sciences
2009
Elinor Ostrom