Conclusion (edited)

(1) I will define, in conclusion, the part I have personally taken in the research on radioactivity.

(2) I have investigated the radioactivity of uranium compounds. I have examined other bodies for the existence of radioactivity. I found the property to be possessed by thorium compounds. I have described the radioactivity of the compounds of uranium and thorium.

(3) I have conducted a research upon radioactive substances other than uranium and thorium. I used accurate electrometric methods. I discovered that the mineral uraninite possesses radioactivity unrelated to their content of uranium and thorium.

(4) From this I concluded that these minerals must contain a different and stronger radioactivity.

(5) With M. Curie and others, I extracted from uraninite two strongly radioactive bodies, polonium and radium.

(6) I have chemically examined these substances. I conducted experiments and succeeded in isolating pure radium chloride. Then I could identify the atomic weight of radium with a very fair degree of accuracy. The work has proved that radium is a new chemical element. It has justified our new method of investigating new chemical elements, based upon radioactivity …

(7) With M. Curie, I have examined different effects produced by the new radioactive substances. We have shown that radium gives rise to rays charged with negative electricity. Our research has given rise to a scientific movement. It will be the starting-point of much research and investigation.

Source: Radio-Active Substances
Thesis presented to the Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1903
By Mme. Marie Sklodowska Curie
By Mme. Marie Sklodowska Curie, Conclusion of Thesis (1903), Google Books, Public Domain