The Discovery of Radium Address by Madame M. Curie at Vassar College

In this accessible account, a pioneering physicist describes the early investigations that led to the discovery of radium. Beginning with uranium rays, she explains how photographic plates and electroscopes revealed invisible emissions and allowed scientists to measure their strength. Her clear, practical explanations make the foundations of radioactivity understandable even to listeners without specialized training.

The search expands from known elements to minerals whose activity seems unexpectedly powerful, suggesting the presence of an unknown substance. What first appears to be a task of weeks or months becomes years of demanding laboratory work, requiring painstaking chemical separations and repeated electrical measurements. Along the way, the address offers a vivid glimpse of scientific persistence, the collaborative nature of research, and the excitement surrounding a discovery that promised to reshape ideas about matter and perhaps improve medical treatment.