The Disappearing Spoon Ch. 12

Summary:

The periodic table can be a source for some of the complications of the most complex human structure: the brain. Marie Sklodowska was tutored by her father since women were prohibited to study. She demonstrated determination to science. She married her soul sister Pierre Curie forming with this, the most perfect scientific couple. SHe focused on examining Uranium, its chemistry and its radioactivity. They both simplified the process of measuring an element’s radioactivity and won a Nobel prize for it. After this, they discovered from the Uranium waste and much research, two new elements that were even more radioactive than Uranium. This led to another Nobel Prize. They named one Polonium (based on Poland). Her husband Pierre had been killed by a carriage and could not share this last Prize. Institution of chemistry she was negated the entrance for being a woman. Her daughter was also a chemist and made the discovery of turning elements to radioactive atoms.

The Polonium that Curie’s daughter had inhaled killed her, but actually helped other people, because this made possible the creation of cheap medical tools. Gyorgy Hevesy discovered how by using lead he could trace and follow up to the element in one’s body. He was successful and began to track molecules inside veins and organs. After his discovery, in that time physicists became intrigued with the way that atoms were formed and created quantum mechanics. Bohr made the discovery of Hafnium making this a great chemical discovery since it dug deeper into the atomic structure. Meitner and Hahn two scientists that focused on nuclear sciences and shared the credit. Hahn later discovered that in Curie’s daughter’s experiment it was lanthanum and barium, and Meitner found out that it was nuclear fission. Although it was mostly Meitner's contributions, nut Hahn got the credit. But justice was made and Maitner got her own element: element 109 Meitnerium.

Reflection:

The book gets into a deeper part of life and claims that the elements are part of a social chemistry that explains human characteristics. This chapter focuses in connecting geographical political aspects of the social life of humans, and how chemistry had or formed part of them. Marie Curie was a great chemist who I admire for giving her part in science and even obtaining two Nobel Prize Awards. She knew what she was doing. It is surprising how her daughter followed her steps and made great discoveries as well. Sadly and ironically the element that her mother had discovered exploded in her lab leading her to have pneumonia and even killing her just like her mother. I like the subtle puns used by the author like the experiment Hevesy tried to make about the meat of the meat lady and is integrated to the proper food that he had to consume in order to make some experiments with his urine. It is nice to see that even in the world of chemistry there is justice just like how Meitner got her own element and Hahn only a Nobel Prize.