Henri Becquerel

See also: Becquerel (homonymy)

Antoine Henri Becquerel is a French physicist born the December 15th 1852 with Paris and deceased the August 25th 1908 with the Croisic.

His/her father, Alexandre Edmond Becquerel, and his/her grandfather, Antoine Becquerel, was themselves of the physicists, professors to the national Muséum of natural history of Paris. He is born in these buildings where the family lives and works, and where his/her father was also born.

He carries out his studies with the Louis-the-Large Lycée, where he has, inter alia professors, the mathematician Gaston Darboux. In 1872, it enters to the Polytechnic school, then in 1874 takes the way of the Ponts and Chaussées.

In 1874, it Marie with Lucie Jamin, girl of Jules Jamin one of his professors of physics at the Polytechnic school, with which he has Jean in 1878.

It obtains its diploma for the occupation of engineer in 1877, but prefers the scientific research as a physicist with the administration. Its first work is relating to the Optique, then it directs starting from 1875 towards research towards the polarization. In 1883, it turns to the study of the infra-red spectrum of the metal vapors, before being devoted, in 1886, with the absorption of the light in the crystals, until its defense of thesis of doctorate in 1888.

The following year, he is elected with the Academy of Science, like his father and his/her grandfather was it before him. After the death of his/her father in 1892, it continues its work and ends up entering as professor to the Polytechnic school in 1895, where it succeeds Alfred Potier.

In 1896, Becquerel discovered the Radioactivité by accident, whereas it made research on the Fluorescence of the salt S of Uranium. Encouraged by his friend Henri Poincaré, he sought to determine if this phenomenon were of comparable nature that the X-rays. It is by studying a photographic plate put in contact with material that he realizes that it is impressed even when the material was not subjected in the light of the sun: he concludes from it that the material emits its own radiation without requiring an excitation by light. He announces his results the March 2nd of this year, with a few days in advance only on work of Sylvanus Thompson which worked in parallel on the same subject with London. This work is worth to him the Médaille Rumford in 1900.

At that time, a coed, Marie Curie, wife of her colleague Pierre Curie, choose like subject of thesis the study of this new type of radiation. It confirms in a few months that this radiation is a property of several chemical elements, and baptizes this property “Radioactivité”.

In 1903, after the discovery of the Polonium and the Radium by the Curie, it divides the Nobel Prize of physics with them, for its contribution noticed to discovered spontaneous radioactivity and the study of the emitted radiations. In 1908, he becomes foreign member of the Royal Society.

He prematurely dies at the 56 years age without to have stopped working on this subject with the Curie. His/her son Jean Becquerel succeeds to him the pulpit of the Natural history museum.

Internal bond

Family Becquerel

External bond

the dynasty of Becquerel

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