curie

¹

[ kyoor-ee, kyoo-ree ]

noun

, Physics, Chemistry.

1. a unit of activity of radioactive substances equivalent to 3.70 × 10 10 disintegrations per second: it is approximately the amount of activity produced by 1 gram of radium-226. : Ci

Curie

²

[ kyoor-ee, kyoo-ree; French ky-ree ]

noun

1. I·rène [ee-, ren]. Joliot-Curie, Irène.
2. Ma·rie [m, uh, -, ree, m, a, -, ree], 1867–1934, Polish physicist and chemist in France: codiscoverer of radium 1898; Nobel Prize in Physics 1903, for chemistry 1911.
3. her husband Pierre [pee-, air, pye, r], 1859–1906, French physicist and chemist: codiscoverer of radium; Nobel Prize in Physics 1903.

Curie

¹

/ kyri; -riː; ˈkjʊərɪ /

noun

1. CurieMarie18671934FFrenchPolishSCIENCE: physicistSCIENCE: chemist Marie (mari). 1867–1934, French physicist and chemist, born in Poland: discovered with her husband Pierre the radioactivity of thorium, and discovered and isolated radium and polonium. She shared a Nobel prize for physics (1903) with her husband and Henri Becquerel, and was awarded a Nobel prize for chemistry (1911)
2. CuriePierre18591906MFrenchSCIENCE: physicistSCIENCE: chemist her husband, Pierre (pjɛr). 1859–1906, French physicist and chemist

curie

²

/ -riː; ˈkjʊərɪ /

noun

1. a unit of radioactivity that is equal to 3.7 × 10 ¹⁰disintegrations per second Ci

curie

¹

/ kyr′ē,ky-rē′ /

1. A unit used to measure the rate of radioactive decay. Radioactive decay is measured by the rate at which the atoms making up a radioactive substance are transformed into different atoms. One curie is equal to 37 billion (3.7 × 10 ¹⁰) of these transformations per second. Many scientists now measure radioactive decay in becquerels rather than curies.

Curie

²

1. Polish-born French chemist who pioneered research into radioactivity. Following Antoine Henri Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity, she investigated uranium with her husband, Pierre Curie (1859–1906). Together they discovered the elements radium and polonium. Marie Curie later isolated pure radium and developed the use of radioactivity in medicine.

Word History and Origins

Origin of curie¹

First recorded in 1910; named in memory of Pierre Curie

Word History and Origins

Origin of curie¹

C20: named after Pierre Curie

Biography

The study of radioactivity owes much of its start and early development to Marie Curie, born Maria Skłodowska in Poland in 1867. She was exposed to science early by her father, a mathematician and physicist, and in her young adulthood she moved to Paris, where she soon met many prominent physicists, including Pierre Curie, whom she married in 1895. In 1896 Henri Becquerel discovered a new phenomenon that Curie would soon name radioactivity , and together with Pierre she discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, in 1898. For their discovery of radioactivity, the three won the 1903 Nobel Prize for physics. In 1906, after her husband died unexpectedly, she filled his vacant professorship at the Sorbonne, becoming the first woman to teach there. In 1911 she became the first person to win a second Nobel Prize (for chemistry), which she received for the isolation of pure radium. This was an important feat because, before the invention of particle accelerators, radioactivity could only be effectively studied if one had an abundant and concentrated supply of highly radioactive sources; much of her work was spent developing techniques to create such stockpiles. Curie also saw the need for such supplies in medicine. Her frequent exposure to radioactivity apparently precipitated the leukemia that took her life in 1934, but her work was continued by her daughter Irène (1897–1956), already an important nuclear physicist in her own right.

Example Sentences

That would be Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, the gal who discovered radioactive polonium.

From The Daily Beast

Screenplays for Marie Antoinette, The Women, and Madame Curie fizzled.

From The Daily Beast

Radium was discovered in 1898 by M. and Madame Curie and M. Bmont, while experimenting with the uranium mineral pitchblende.

From Project Gutenberg

They say that her marriage with M. Curie was just such a union, as must have produced some fine result.

From Project Gutenberg

M. Curie made this experiment recently at a reception in Lille, to the great delight of the guests.

From Project Gutenberg

I suggested to M. Curie the possibility that some philanthropist might be inspired on reading his words to help the new cause.

From Project Gutenberg

After we had been in the darkness for some time M. Curie wrapped the radium tube in thick paper and put it in my hand.

From Project Gutenberg