ANTOINE HENRY

BECQUEREL
 CONTENTS
1) Introduction of the scientist
2) Introduction about the work (In simple terms)
3) About the work (Technically brief)
4) Highlights of the work worth awarding the Nobel prize.
5) Impact of the work
 INTRODUCTION
• Antoine Henri Becquerel was a French Physicist and Engineer born on
Paris at December 15, 1852, in a distinguished family of scholars and
scientists.
• In 1877 he earned his engineering degree from the Ecole des Ponts et
Chaussées and became an engineer at the National Administration of
Bridges and High-ways.
• In January 1878, he became assistant to his father at French National
Museum of Natural History, known in French as the Musée d'histoire
naturelle.
• When his father died in 1891, Becquerel inherited the family's chair of
physics at the Museum and simultaneously inherited the Alfred Potier
at the École Polytechnique.
 Cont.
• He published papers on the magnetic properties of Nickel, Cobalt and
Ozone in 1879.
• He also published his discovery of influence of Earth's magnetic field
on atmosphere.
• After the discovery of x rays by William Roentgen in the year,
Becquerel conducted experiments looking for a connection between
phosphorescence and X-rays which led him to the accidental discovery
of natural radioactivity.
• For his work in this field, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics along
with his Doctoral student Marie Skłodowska-Curie and her husband
Pierre Curie in the year 1903.
 INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE WORK
• In 1883 Becquerel began studying fluorescence and phosphorescence ,
a subject which his father had been expert in
• In early 1896 the scientific community was fascinated with the recent
discovery of new type of radiation ‘X-rays’ by Wilhelm Conrad
Roentgen
• Becquerel began looking for a connection between phosphorescence
and X-rays
• To test his idea he started conducting experiments by photographic
plates and crystals of uranium salts
• After several stages he found that uranium salts emitted radiation on
their own
• Becquerel discovered radioactivity, the spontaneous emission of
radiation by a material
 SPONTANOUS RADIOACTIVITY
• He used fluorescent and phosphorescent minerals to study X – rays.
• For this he used a fluorescent material namely called Potassium
uranyl sulphate. Left them in sunlight for hours on the top of a
photographic plate with coin on the top.
• Found spontaneous emission of penetrating radiations.
• He used U salts and studied them by 4 other experiments.

EXP 4 EXP 5
EXP 1 EXP 2 EXP 3
In dark for 160 Using magnetic
With sunlight No sunlight 3 diff.setup
hrs field
 Cont.
• Emission of radiation is an atomic
property of uranium
• Intensity of the radiation was unaffected
by time.
• The radiation was not reflected or
refracted like light
• It removed charges on a body charged
with static electricity
• After investigating various radioactive
materials multiple types of rays were
identified
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WORK
• Becquerel had long been interested
in phosphorescence

• He investigated the newly discovered X-rays in 1896, it led

to studies of how uranium salts are affected by light

• He had discovered a new phenomenon,

radioactivity
HIS WORK INSPIRED SCIENTISTS

There followed a period of intense research into radioactivity,

including the determination that the element Thorium is also
radioactive and the discovery of additional radioactive elements
Polonium and Radium

MARIE CURIE
Honours Awarded to Henri Becquerel
Becquerel has been honored with being the namesake of many
different scientific discoveries.

• The SI unit for radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), is named

after him.
• There is a crater named Becquerel on the Moon and also a
crater named Becquerel on Mars.
• The uranium-based mineral becquerelite was named after
Henri.
 Impact of the work
• In medical field
• Iodine – 131, Phosphorous – 32, Technetium – 99m.
• Cobalt – 60 and Caesium – 137.
• In industries
• For power generation
• For measurements
• To develop hardier species
• Food preservation
 Cont.

• Tracer applications
• In research field
• Earth sciences – Radiometric dating
• Carbon – 14 dating
• And many more.
THANK YOU