Pierre Curie

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Lore & Background

Pierre Curie was born on 15 May 1859 in Paris, where his father was a general practitioner. After being homeschooled, Curie entered the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Paris, where he earned his licentiate in Physics in 1878. He stayed at the University working as a laboratory demonstrator until 1882, when he joined the faculty at ESPCI Paris. In 1895, Curie received his D.Sc. from the University of Paris, where he was subsequently appointed Professor of Physics. The submission material for his doctorate consisted of his research on magnetism. In 1880, Pierre and his older brother, Jacques, demonstrated that an electric potential was generated when crystals were compressed, i.e. piezoelectricity. To aid this work, they invented the piezoelectric quartz electrometer. In 1881, they demonstrated the reverse effect; that crystals could be made to deform when subject to an electric field. In subsequent work on magnetism, he defined the Curie scale. He discovered the effect of temperature on paramagnetism which is now known as Curie's law, and that ferromagnetic substances exhibited a critical temperature transition, above which the substances lost their ferromagnetic behavior, now known as the Curie temperature. Curie formulated what is now known as the Curie Dissymmetry Principle: a physical effect cannot have a dissymmetry absent from its efficient cause. Curie worked with his wife in isolating polonium and radium. They were the first to use the term radioactivity. Curie and one of his students, Albert Laborde, made the first discovery of nuclear energy, by identifying the continuous emission of heat from radium particles. Curie also investigated the radiation emissions of radioactive substances, and through the use of magnetic fields was able to show that some of the emissions were positively charged, some were negative and some were neutral. These correspond to alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Curie considered himself an atheist. He was introduced to Maria Skłodowska by their friend, physicist Józef Wierusz-Kowalski. She refused his initial proposal, but finally agreed to marry him on 26 July 1895. On 19 April 1906, while crossing the busy Rue Dauphine in the rain at the Quai de Conti, Curie slipped and fell under a heavy horse-drawn cart; one of the wheels ran over his head, fracturing his skull and killing him instantly.

Reader's Guide

Pierre Curie's significance lies in his foundational contributions to multiple branches of physics and chemistry. His work on piezoelectricity, demonstrated in 1880 with his brother Jacques, showed that an electric potential was generated when crystals were compressed, and they invented the piezoelectric quartz electrometer. Almost all digital electronic circuits now rely on this in the form of crystal oscillators. In magnetism, he discovered the effect of temperature on paramagnetism, now known as Curie's law, and the critical temperature transition for ferromagnetic substances, now known as the Curie temperature. The Curie temperature is used to study plate tectonics, treat hypothermia, measure caffeine, and to understand extraterrestrial magnetic fields. The curie is a unit of measurement (3.7 × 10^10 decays per second or 37 gigabecquerels) used to describe the intensity of a sample of radioactive material and was named after Marie and Pierre Curie by the Radiology Congress in 1910. Curie formulated the Curie Dissymmetry Principle. Most famously, his collaboration with Marie Curie on radioactivity led to the discovery of polonium and radium, and they were the first to use the term radioactivity. Their 26 December 1898 publication for their discovery of radium and polonium was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society in 2015. Curie and Albert Laborde made the first discovery of nuclear energy by identifying the continuous emission of heat from radium particles. His legacy extends through his family: his daughter Irène and son-in-law Frédéric Joliot-Curie each received Nobel prizes for their work on radioactivity, and his granddaughter Hélène Langevin-Joliot is a professor of nuclear physics at the University of Paris. Pierre Curie's papers from the 1890s remain radioactive and are kept in special lead boxes at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. In April 1995, Pierre and Marie Curie were moved from their original resting place and enshrined in the crypt of the Panthéon in Paris.

Did You Know?

• Pierre Curie and his brother Jacques invented the piezoelectric quartz electrometer in 1880.
• The curie, a unit of radioactive decay (3.7 × 10^10 decays per second), was named after Marie and Pierre Curie by the Radiology Congress in 1910.
• Curie and his student Albert Laborde made the first discovery of nuclear energy by identifying continuous heat emission from radium particles.
• Pierre Curie considered himself an atheist and attended séances as scientific experiments, taking detailed notes.
• All of Pierre Curie's papers from the 1890s remain radioactive and are stored in special lead boxes at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.