Hello,
Today's story begins with Irene Curie.
Not Marie Curie, the Nobel-Prize-winning scientist you've heard about, but her teenage daughter.
Two Women
Who Revolutionized Science and Changed the World |
Seventeen-year-old Irene Curie volunteered to serve in World War I as an x-ray technician. She used portable x-rays to help surgeons identify shrapnel and perform operations near the battlefield.
Her mother had developed the military
x-ray program. Marie wanted to win her mother’s respect, and, frankly, she wanted to spend some time with her mom. This combination of brilliant scientist and vulnerable teen made her an irresistible subject to Winifred.
Here's Irene Curie on a mobile x-ray unit in 1916.
The Germans were using x-ray technology, too. Lise Meitner, an Austrian who had been working in Berlin when the war began, performed the same work as Irene. She was an x-ray
technician on the German side of WWI.
Both Curie and Meitner would prove to be among the most accomplished female scientists of the 20th century. These women were among a handful of physicists worldwide who were working on better understanding atomic structure.
Curie had been born into the “First Family of Science” (both of her parents had won Nobel Prizes), But Meitner had been turned away from higher education programs because she was a woman.
She finally had a chance to study physics at the
University of Vienna in 1901, but she repeatedly came up against obstacles.
Lise Meitner in the laboratory (1913).
She was not paid in the early years of her research program, and she had to set up her own laboratory in the basement of the science building because she was not allowed to work in the main lab
with the men.
The chief scientist claimed he was afraid her hair would catch fire, even though she wore her hair in a tight bun and the men in the lab almost universally wore elaborate facial hair.
During their
careers, both Irene and Lise made important discoveries in the understanding of physics. Curie and her husband, Frederic Joliot, discovered artificial radiation. They won a Nobel Prize in 1934 for their work Above: Otto Stern and Lise Meitner, possibly 1937 colloquy with Nobel Price winners
Lise had to flee Nazi Germany in 1938, leaving her laboratory and research behind. She continued to consult with her former lab partner, Otto Hahn, and she made the breakthrough in understanding of nuclear fission.
Ultimately,
Hahn took credit for her discovery and claimed the Nobel Prize for the work they did together. Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn in West Germany in 1962.
Both Irene and Lise’s discoveries were integral to the development of the atomic bomb.
The women had seen such horrors on the battlefields during World War I that they had become pacifists; both were horrified that the work they did in the name of science had been used for the creation of the most destructive weapon in the
history.
“It is an unfortunate accident that this discovery (of fission) came about in a time of war,” Meitner said.
I find these women inspiring not only because of their
accomplishments, but also because of their humanity.
Here's look at Winifred's new book about the two women. She says they were undeniably gifted scientists, but they also held fast to their love of peace. Curie dedicated her later
years to working for nuclear disarmament; Meitner worked on the development of nuclear energy.
Throughout their lives, they both envisioned a world where scientists could master the art of using the power of the atom not for a weapon but for the benefit of humankind.
Thrilled to have you on the blog today, Winifred, and to highlight your wonderful book. Thank you!
Winifred Conkling is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction for young readers whose works include Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson’s Flight from Slavery (Algonquin, 2015) and the middle-grade novel Sylvia and Aki (Tricycle/Random House,
2011), winner of the Jane Addams Children’s Literature Award and the Tomás Rivera Award. See more about Winifred's books here.Thanks for you time! Have you read a great book? Tell me about it. Have a burning question? Let me know. Until next week.... If you know someone who might enjoy my newsletter or books, please forward this e-mail. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the blue link below. To find out more about my books, how I help students, teacher and librarians,
visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com. My best, Mary
Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. |
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