Catherine Chamié measured the half-life of radon for the first time

December 13, 1888, Odessa (Russia) - July 14, 1950, Paris (France)

In 1907 she enrolled at the Faculty of Science of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and in 1913 he received his doctorate with his thesis on electromagnetism.

She returned to Russia and continued her studies on voltages in phanotrons at the University of St. Petersburg Physics Laboratory.

During World War I she worked as a nurse and then continued her scientific work as a mathematical assistant at the University of Odessa (Russia).

During the Russian Revolution, her family fled Odessa with the French troops and took refuge in Voreppe, near Grenoble. After staying in a refugee settlement for five months, he moved to Paris for educational and work opportunities to support his family.

Between 1919 and 1920, she enrolled in a series of free courses related to radioactivity offered by the Collège de France (Paris). Simultaneously, she worked as a science teacher and gave private lessons at an educational institution.

After completing the courses and gaining experience in the field of radioactivity, she wrote to Marie Curie to seek opportunities to work part-time in her laboratory at the Institut Curie or Institut du Radium. Marie offered him a position and he volunteered to join the institute's measurement department as a chemist. His work included the preparation of radium salts and the analysis of radioactive minerals from the Congo. He was soon awarded a research grant which enabled him to work at the Institut du Radium on a paid basis. Between 1920 and 1934, he assisted Marie Curie in her major research work. Together with Irène Joliot-Curie, he measured for the first time the half-life of radon and carried out extensive research into the photographic effect of atom clusters, an effect that bears his name.

The ‘Chamié effect’ exposes a photographic film to the reagent solution to determine whether the small amount of radioactive compound used was soluble or insoluble in the solvent.

In 1929, she received French nationality.

In 1934, she became head of the measurement department and carried out research in the field of medical applications of radioactivity.

Between 1921 and 1950 she wrote more than 40 research articles.

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