Physicist — Pierre Curie (Paris, 1859 – Paris, 1906) was a French physicist, husband and collaborator of Marie Curie. Before the studies on radioactivity he had already made important contributions: with his brother Jacques he discovered piezoelectricity and studied the behaviour of magnetic materials as temperature varies. Together with Marie he isolated the radioactive elements polonium and radium, and in 1903 shared with her and with Becquerel the Nobel Prize in Physics for research on radioactivity. His work on magnets earned him the discovery of the temperature beyond which a material loses its ferromagnetic properties. He died tragically at only 46, run over by a cart in Paris.
Fun fact
He died crushed under the wheels of a horse-drawn cart while crossing the street in the rain; probably weakened by the radiation to which he had exposed himself for years.
Theories and contributions
- Curie’s law — The magnetic susceptibility of a paramagnetic material is inversely proportional to the absolute temperature: .
- Curie temperature — Temperature beyond which a ferromagnetic material loses its spontaneous magnetisation, becoming paramagnetic.
- Piezoelectricity — Discovered with his brother Jacques: certain crystals generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical pressure.
Present in chapters
Linked atoms
2 linked atoms.