U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

Marie Curie’s Last Radium Standard – Grand Challenge

Published

Author(s)

Bert M. Coursey

Abstract

The last of the radium-226 standards that Marie Curie personally handled is destined for a radioactive materials waste dump. Presented here is a history of the standards and a challenge to the scientific community to present a rationale for why this standard source, which 100 years ago was one of the most valuable standard artifacts in the world, should be preserved.
Citation
Physics Today
Volume
30
Issue
2/3
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

Radium-226 standard, Marie Curie, history of standard
Metrology, Standards, Calibration services and Reference materials

Citation

Coursey, B. (2016), Marie Curie’s Last Radium Standard – Grand Challenge, Physics Today (Accessed April 18, 2024)

Created September 1, 2016, Updated January 27, 2020