If someone were to ask you what is radium or who discovered radium, would you be able to answer correctly? You may say that radium is not vital in today’s society or that you could care less about radium, but what if you were informed that fifteen percent of the world’s electricity is produced with the help of radium and nuclear power plants. Would you change your mind about the importance of radium? Not many people know but, radium is also frequently used in the medical field specially to run tests or procedures like x-rays and radiotherapy.
Marie Curie, an impressive female scientist, has benefitted the world of medicine and science by discovering a way to treat cancer with radiation, developing nuclear plants to produce electricity, and aiding in the advancements of technology used in the medical field. Marie Curie is one of the first of many intuitive female scientists who has helped shaped modern society today with her outstanding work and discoveries with radiation. To begin with, Marie Curie was the first scientist to prove that polonium and radium were elements that actually indeed existed (Koestler- Grack).
In addition, the term “radioactive” was also formulated by the intelligent scientist herself, Marie Curie (Des Jardins). Lastly, Marie Curie successfully proved to be one of the most diligent female scientists by being the first woman to win not one, but two Nobel Prize Awards (Koestler- Grack). All three of Curie’s most remarkable achievements that occurred in May 1921 was the start of something even unimaginable back then that made such an enormous impact in modern society today all thanks to the one and only Marie Curie.
Marie Curie’s discovery of radium lead to many benefits, such as helping cancer patients treat cancer with radiation therapy. To begin with, radiation therapy can help eliminate cancer cells by destroying their DNA or producing charged particles within the cells which could result in damaging the DNA (“Radiation Therapy”). lonizing radiation is the result of decayed radium. Since Marie Curie was the one to discover radium, she is partially the reason to why radiation therapy is possible.
Additionally, Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, were the first to discover radium in the form of chloride, but Marie Curie was the one who decided to continue their research by isolating radium. This led her to become the first person to prove that radium existed (“Radiation Therapy’). The element radium was first officially introduced in 1898 by Marie Curie. She had elucidated that the element she had studied was “radio-active. ” This radioactive element has the ability to radiate and the genetic material which helps to treat cancer patients.
Lastly, the two most common ways of radiotherapy are external radiation and internal radiation known as brachytherapy (Koestler- Grack). There may be several different types of radiotherapy, but one thing they all have in common is that they all use ionizing radiation which comes from the decayed element that Marie Curie uncovered. Radiation therapy helps treat cancer patients by utilizing the element that Marie Curie discovered. Not only did Marie Curie help find a way to treat cancer patients, but she also played a gigantic role in initiating the development of nuclear power plants to produce electricity.
First, fifteen percent of the world’s electricity comes from nuclear power plants. Electricity is needed for many purposes in today’s society. Nuclear plants are able to produce energy by using radioactive materials to fuel the nuclear plants. Second, containing more than 100 reactors, the United States has the largest nuclear power industry. Curie’s discovery of radium leads to the discovery of radioactive materials which helps fuel nuclear power plants. These nuclear power plants fueled by radioactive materials that contains radium is what made the United States to obtain the largest nuclear power industry.
Third, eight terawatt hours of electricity per year are being produced by a nuclear power plant that operates ninety percent of the time (“Nuclear Energy”). A great amount of electricity that people around the world utilizes comes from nuclear power plants. These nuclear power plants are being operated by the radioactive materials that Curie discovered. Without the discovery of radium, these radioactive materials could not exist and nothing could fuel the power plants, causing to eliminate an alternative way to produce electricity. The development of nuclear power plants to produce energy is made possible by Marie Curie’s discovery of radium.
In addition to using radium to treat cancer patients and help fuel nuclear power plants, Marie Curie benefitted modern society today by aiding in the advancements of technology used in the medical field. One of the most common known medical devices that require radiation in order to operate is x-ray machines. X-rays are a kind of radiation that is able to travel through skin. X-rays cast shadows of bones and other structures to detect any fractions. Without radiation, X-rays would be inoperative. Curie’s discovery of radium helps devices like an xray machine to be used in the medical field.
Additionally, several radiology centers and hospitals execute roughly ten million medical procedures that utilize nuclear medicine (“Radiation Uses”). Radiation assisting in nuclear medicine is just one of the many benefits that come from Curie’s work. Some nuclear medicine procedures require doctors to administer radioactive substances in some degree to patients in order to eliminate abnormalities like tumors. Likewise, computerized axial tomography (CAT) and computed tomography (CT) scanners are other examples of technology used in the medical field that utilize radiation waves (“Radiation Uses”).
CAT and CT scanners equip a visual aid for doctors to see a patient’s internal organs. This is made possible by the radiation waves that are able to pass through skin. CAT and CT scanners operate the same way x-ray machines do. Curie’s work helps saves lives by using the CAT and CT scanners to diagnose patients’ diseases early. Although Curie’s work with radium offers many benefits, it comes with negative effects as well. Radiation therapy is capable of not just killing cancer cells, but also killing off perfectly healthy body tissues. Anything exposed to radiation is likely to be damaged.
Radiation therapy helps with eliminating cancer cells, but it also comes with the negative side effect of damaging normal body tissues. Young patients with brain tumors that are treated with radiation therapy also have a chance of developing long-term side effects. Consequently, long term side effects such as severe learning disabilities are a possible outcome from radiation therapy. On the bright side, at least patients get to live a longer healthy cancer- free life due to the positive effects of radiation therapy. As a final point, high dosages of radiation therapy could be very harmful (“Radiation Therapy’).
When given too much of radiation therapy, it could become toxic and fatal. This is a negative outcome of radium, but when it is administered correctly, it saves lives. Unfortunately there are negative effects that come from Curie’s work, but the benefits overcome the negative effects. In conclusion, Marie Curie, one of the most remarkable female scientists, helped benefit society with her discovery of radium by finding a way to cure cancer with radiation, producing electricity with nuclear power plants and radioactive materials and aiding in the advancements of technology used in the medical field.
As stated above, fifteen percent of the world’s electricity is produced by radioactive substance fueled nuclear power plants. Curie’s discoveries also lead to the inventions of technology used in the medical field such as an x-ray. Lastly, decayed radium can be utilized in the treatment for cancer. Today’s society would not be the same without Marie Curie and her amazing discovery.
