What was Antoine Henri Becquerel known for?

Henri Becquerel, in full Antoine-Henri Becquerel, (born December 15, 1852, Paris, France—died August 25, 1908, Le Croisic), French physicist who discovered radioactivity through his investigations of uranium and other substances. In 1903 he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie.

What did Henri Becquerel discover?

When Henri Becquerel investigated the newly discovered X-rays in 1896, it led to studies of how uranium salts are affected by light. By accident, he discovered that uranium salts spontaneously emit a penetrating radiation that can be registered on a photographic plate.

What was Henri Becquerel atomic theory?

He hypothesized that the uranium would absorb light and reemit it as x-rays. He put the uranium on photographic plates. He developed the plates and observed that the uranium had, in fact, emitting radiation similar to x-rays.

How many becquerels are safe?

The safe level of radon at home, as recommended by Environmental Protection Act (EPA), is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air or 148 becquerels per cubic meter (Bq/m3) (‘picocurie’ and ‘becquerel’ are common units for measuring the amount of radioactivity).

How did Rutherford discovered alpha and beta rays?

In 1899 Ernest Rutherford studied the absorption of radioactivity by thin sheets of metal foil and found two components: alpha (a) radiation, which is absorbed by a few thousandths of a centimeter of metal foil, and beta (b) radiation, which can pass through 100 times as much foil before it was absorbed.

What is a unit of radiation called?

Radiation activity is measured in an international (SI) unit called a becquerel (Bq). The becquerel counts how many particles or photons (in the case of wave radiation) are emitted per second by a source.

When did Henri Becquerel win the Nobel Prize?

Scientific Contributions. In 1903, Becquerel received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on radioactivity along with Pierre and Marie Curie. He died in Le Croisic, France on August 25, 1908.

When did Henri Becquerel discover radioactivity in 1919?

Benchmarks: Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity on February 26, 1896. In 1919, Rutherford — now known as the father of nuclear physics — published a paper that detailed “splitting an atom”; he had succeeded in forcing protons out of the nucleus, the first step to the 1938 discovery of nuclear fission.

When did Henri Becquerel become a member of the Academy?

In 1906, Henri was elected Vice Chairman of the academy, and in 1908, the year of his death, Becquerel was elected Permanent Secretary of the Académie des Sciences. During his lifetime, Becquerel was honored with membership into the Accademia dei Lincei and the Royal Academy of Berlin.

When did Jacques Becquerel win the Rumford Medal?

In 1900, Becquerel won the Rumford Medal for his discovery of the radioactivity of uranium and he was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities awarded him the Helmholtz Medal in 1901.