@nswer To Mr Khoo
Friday, September 22, 2006
i would like to thank Mr Khoo for his QuestionThose who has question can email to suning_candy@hotmail.com (group leader)Ans: Marie Curie discovered the element radium,which naturally gives off radioactivity as its atoms split apart. Marie curie carried out her research at a time when radioactivity was not understood at all. Polonium was the first highly radioactive element to be isolated in pure form.It gave off so much radiation ,that it made the surrounding air glow,and the polonium itself became hot.But Marie'swork had shown that polonium,though powerful,was not responsible for the rest of pitchplende's radioactivity.She continued her work and partly purified a substance that she thought contained another new element.This,she named it radium,after the latin word radius,meaning "ray".However,there was so little of it in the pitchblende that huge amounts of ore would be needed to prerare a tiny sample of radium.In 1899,Marie began the immense taskof obtaining radium in pure form,in order to prove its existence .After 3 years of hard work,Marie finally made a pure form of radium.There was only 0.1 gram-a small speck.Yet it was enough radium to use in defining some of its physical and chemical properties.She even found its melting point, 700 degree celcius.MArue's discovery ,radium,is rarely used today,even in scientific research.However,herwork on its purification,and on the nature of the atom.
--M@rIe Go rOuNd--
2:00 AM
