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Antoine Henri Becquerel

ANTOINE HENRI BECQUEREL

1908 - 1852

Antoine Henri Becquerel, the discoverer of atomic radiation, was born in 1852 in Paris, France. He obtained a high education and obtained a doctorate in science in 1888. In 1892 he became a professor of applied physics at the Museum of History in Paris. It is interesting to mention that his father and grandfather, who were both physicists, carried The same job his son received that job too. In 1895 Becquerel became a professor of physics at the Polytechnic School in Paris, and there, in 1896, he made the great discovery that made him famous.

In the previous year, William Roettgen had discovered X-rays, a discovery that excited the scientific community. Roettgen produced X-rays by using a cathode ray tube, and Becquerel asked himself whether it was possible to produce rays by shining rays.

And he had in his laboratory some crystals of potassium uranium sulfate, and he knew that this compound is phosphorescent, and he did the following experiment:

First: He wrapped some thick black paper around a photographic plate to make sure that no visible light reached the plate. Then he placed phosphorous crystals on top of that plate, then exposed it to the sun. After developing the film, he found that an image of the crystals had appeared in that film.

At first, Becquerel thought that he had succeeded in finding a new source for the production of x-rays, but then, by chance, he found that the uranium compound was emitting piercing radiation even if it was not exposed to sunlight first, and it happened that the days were cloudy and the sun did not appear, so Becquerel placed the crystals And the phosphorous plate wrapped tightly in one of his drawers exposes the crystals to sunlight, but after a few days he decided to acidify the unused photographic plate, and then, to his amazement, he saw the image of the crystals on it, as he had seen previously.

Becquerel realized that what happened was not only phosphorescent lighting, so he decided to leave the idea of ​​his first experiment and set out to research and investigate the strange new phenomenon that he discovered by chance. He soon discovered that the radiations that were emitted by the uranium salts were not the X-rays (these rays were called for a period of time rays Becquerel) Then he discovered that these new rays could be emitted from any uranium salt, and since the radiations were emitted without the presence of any uranium interactions, Becquerel concluded that the atomic radiation is not of chemical origin, but rather it is one of the characteristics of uranium atoms only.

In 1896, Becquerel published seven papers describing the phenomenon that he had discovered. Among the scientists who read these papers and cared about this subject is (Marie Curie), who learned that the element thorium emits similar radiation. After she and her husband (Pierre Curie) worked, she discovered two unknown elements: crystal zonium and radium, both Two radioactive elements. Madame Curie and her husband were the first to use the word "radiant" to describe this phenomenon.

Many scientists worked in this field later and discovered that the rays are three types of distinct radiations, which are (alpha) rays, (beta) rays, and (gamma) rays, and they began to study the properties of these radiations.

Becquerel won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, as well as Marie and Pierre Curie, and he died in 1908 in the city of Croix in France.

Atomic radiation is important for many reasons, including that it has multiple practical applications. For example, it can be used in curing cancer, and it is useful in scientific research: it helps us obtain information about the structure of the atom. Radiation detectors are used in biological and chemical research. Detect different geological ages.