Henri Becquerel (1852 - 1908)

Current Atomic Model

  1. Discovered nuclear radiation in 1896.
  2. While storing some uranium compounds in a desk drawer with photographic paper, he noticed that when developed, the photo paper had an image of the compound. This was particularly extraordinary because the photographic paper was sealed. Somehow the compound "exposed" the photo paper through its protective covering.

Marie Curie (1867-1934)

Current Atomic Model

  1. Shortly after this discovery Marie Curie began experiments with uranium to determine the nature of this "radioactivity", a term coined by her. Her husband also turned his research toward the understanding of radiation. In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel received the Nobel prize for their work in radioactivity.
  2. These experiments laid the groundwork for a new era of physics and chemistry. Eventually this would lead to the discovery of the neutron.

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