Skip to Content

Title page for The Theory of Radioactivity

Books of Influence

Traité de Radioactivité

Marie Curie

1910


This is the original edition of Marie Curie's (1867-1934) Traité de Radioactivité (The Theory of Radioactivity). Published by Gauthier-Villars in Paris in 1910, it immediately became the principal text on radioactivity - a term she coined.

Marie Curie discovered that radiation is emitted by unstable atomic nuclei as they attempt to become stable. Her pioneering research changed our understanding of matter and energy, and ushered in a new era in medical research, particularly in the treatment of cancer.

In partnership with her husband Pierre Curie (1859-1906) she investigated radiation from uranium, and discovered the new elements radium and polonium.

In 1903 Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, winning the award for Physics. In 1911 she won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.