Manya Sklodowska was born in 1867 in Poland. She, being the youngest of six, had a hard childhood when her mother died of tuberculosis. Manya and her sister Bronya grew up together. With a little help, Bronya and Manya finished their education.
She married a French scientist named Pierre Curie and changed her name to Marie Curie. Together the two scientists made a great discovery before tragedy happened.
Marie and Pierre, in their little wooden shed in France, isolated something called pitch blend. They found one element that would be the key to their success. This element is called radium. Now they wanted to try to take a bit of radium out of the pitch blend to study on its own. To complete the task of isolation, Marie stirred pitch blend in a large pot while Pierre analyzed the element.
In 1902 Marie and Pierre decided to go to the shed, not to work but just to check to see if the isolation was going okay. They reached the shed at the perfect time. On arrival they saw a beautiful blue light shining through the door...
Radium was used some years ago and now. It was used for a variety of purposes; treating cancer, an ingredient for fluorescent paint used for dials on things like watches, now radium has been replaced for better, safer medical uses.
That goes to show you that two people, such as yourself and a friend, could work for a few years, and discover something amazing. Try your luck!
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