Pierre Curie (1859 - 1906)

Pierre Curie was a French physicist who discovered piezoelectricity, crystallography, magnetism, and radioactivity.

He was born on May 15, 1859 in Paris. His father, Dr. Eugene Curie, was a medical doctor. His father was his mentor during his early education. He demonstrated a strong ability for mathematics as well as geometry in his early life. He alter joined the Department of Sciences in the Sorbonne. He was awarded with a math degree when he was just 16 years old. When he was 18 years old he finished the equivalent of a higher degree. However, he did not continue right away to a doctorate because of lack of money. Rather he was employed as a laboratory lecturer where he was responsible of every practical task in the Physics as well as Industrial Chemistry Schools. He earned his Doctor of Science degree in 1895 and was elected the Professor of Physics. In 1900, he was endorsed as the Professor in the Department of Sciences and in 1904 he turned out to be Titular Professor.

During his early education, Pierre Curie, alongside his brother Jacques, showed that an electric potential was created when crystals were condensed, what is called piezoelecritic effects. To aid in his experimentation, he created various delicate pieces of equipment, such as piezoelectric crystals, electrometer, and balances among others. Later on, he developed his theories of equilibrium as concern specific material phenomena and directed his focus on magnetism. For his doctoral thesis, Pierre Curie did a research on ferromagnetism, paramagnetism as well as diamagnetism. He showed the effect of high temperature on paramagnetism that is nowadays referred to as Curie’s law. The substance constant in Curie’s law is referred to as the Curie constant. Moreover, they proved the reverse effect of magnetic characteristics of a certain material changing when subjected to a specific temperature. Nowadays, this temperature is referred to as Curie point and almost every digital electronic circuit depends on this in the shape of crystal oscillators.

He married his spouse, Marie Curie in 1895 and together they studied radioactivity. During this time, they experienced a lot of suffering as they were hardly enough laboratory facilities and had to teach for many hours so as to make their livelihood. In 1898, they declared the invention of radium as well as polonium through fractionation of pitchblende. Later, they worked hard to explain the characteristics of radium as well as its transformation products. As a result, many scientists carried out successive study in nuclear physics as well as chemistry. In 1903, Curie and his wife were won part of the Nobel Prize for Physics due to their research into the natural radiation established by Becquerel, who won the other part of the Prize.

Pierre Curie discovered what is nowadays called the Curie Dissymmetry Principle. He asserts that a physical impact cannot have a dissymmetry deficient from its capable cause. For instance, an unsystematic concoction of sand in zero magnitude has no dissymmetry. Initiating a gravitational field can lead to dissymmetry due to the course of the field. Subsequently the sand grains could ‘self-sort’ due to the density rising with depth. However, this new arrangement in reality reveals gravitational field dissymmetry which leads to the separation.

Pierre Curie worked with his wife worked in separating polonium and radium. They initiated radioactivity study and were among the first to coin the word radioactivity. Pierre Curie together with one of his students generated the first invention of nuclear energy, through identifying the constant release of high temperature from radium particles. Moreover, he studied the radiation releases of radioactive substances, and by means of magnetic fields he was capable of demonstrating that a number of of the discharges were positively charged, whereas others were negative and others were neutral. These refer to alpha, beta as well as gamma radiation respectively.

During the last part of the 19th century, Pierre Curie was studying the mysteries of normal magnetism. He spontaneously discovered that the spiritualistic research studies of other European scientists, like Charles Richet as well as Camille Flammarion.

Pierre Curie died in April 19, 1906 as a result of a street accident. He was crossing the hectic Rue Dauphine at the Quai de Conti and since it was raining, he tripped and fell below a weighty horse driven cart. He died on the spot as soon as one of the cart’s wheels ran over his head, breaking this cranium.