The Discovery of radium

Description: Henri Becquerel a French scientist while studying uranium discovers properties hitherto unknown to the scientific world. The substance emitted rays that could penetrate black paper and leave an impression on a sensitive photographic plate. Pierre Curie and his wife Marie discover the unknown element, radio-active radium. The significance of their discovery was realised and the novelist Jules Verne considers that the possible results of the Curie’s work could be fantastic. He remarks that it is God’s glory to make a secret of things - man’s glory to uncover them. Presented by Walter Cronkite.