Henri Becquerel
Antoine Henri Becquerel (
December 15,
1852 –
August 25,
1908) was a
French physicist, Nobel laureate, and one of the discoverers of radioactivity.
Becquerel was born in
Paris into a scientific family which, including him and his son, produced four generations of scientists. He studied science at the
École Polytechnique and engineering at the
École des Ponts et Chaussées.
In
1892 he became the third in his family to occupy the physics chair at the
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. In
1894 he became chief engineer in the Department of Bridges and Highways.
In
1896, while investigating
phosphorescence in
uranium salts, Becquerel discovered
radioactivity accidentally. Investigating the work of
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Becquerel wrapped a fluorescent mineral,
potassium uranyl sulfate, in photographic plates and black material in preparation for an experiment requiring bright sunlight. However, prior to actually performing the experiment, Becquerel found that the photographic plates were fully exposed. This discovery led Becquerel to investigate the spontaneous emission of nuclear radiation. In
1903 he shared the
Nobel Prize in Physics with
Pierre and
Marie Curie "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity".
|
Image of Becquerel's photographic plate which has been fogged by exposure to radiation from uranium salts. The shadow of a metal Maltese Cross placed between the plate and the uranium salts is clearly visible. |
In
1908, the year of his death, Becquerel was elected permanent secretary of the
Académie des Sciences. He died at the age of 55 in
Le Croisic.
The
SI unit for radioactivity, the
becquerel (Bq) is named after him, and also there are
Becquerel craters on the
Moon and
Mars.
*
A. E. Becquerel (his father)
*
Antoine César Becquerel (his grandfather)
*
Jean Becquerel (his son)
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Henri Becquerel - Biography*
About Henri Becquerel*
Becquerel short biography and the use of his name as an unit of measure in the
SI*
Henri Becquerel*
Annotated bibliography for Henri Becquerel from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
