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A Reconsideration of Ştefania Mărăcineanu’s Measurements of Polonium-210’s Half-Life: Understanding Her Claim to the Discovery of Artificial Radioactivity

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Abstract

I re-examine the raw data of the measurements of the half-life of 210Po from the Romanian physicist Ştefania Mărăcineanu’s doctoral thesis, performed at the Institut du Radium, 1921–1923, under the supervision of Marie Curie. The half-life values reported in the thesis show relatively large divergences and a possible dependence on the (metallic) support on which the Po source was deposited. These findings influenced Mărăcineanu’s subsequent independent research, and later compelled her to claim priority for the discovery of artificial radioactivity. The present analysis of these data, performed with the least-squares method, certifies the outstanding accuracy of the experimental measurements by providing values with good agreement between the different series of measurements and an average value that is close to the currently adopted half-life value of this isotope. On the other hand, this analysis changes our perspective by showing that the rudimentary procedure Mărăcineanu used to processing the data introduced errors in her reported values, which favored a poor interpretation of the results.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Source: Ştefania Mărăcineanu, Thèses présentées a la Faculté de Sciences de l’Université de Paris pour obtenir le grade de docteur ès sciences physiques (Paris: Les Presses Universitaires de France, 1924), 23

Fig. 3

Source: ENSDF – Evalated Nuclear Structure Data Files

Fig. 4

Source: Ştefania Mărăcineanu, Thèses présentées a la Faculté de Sciences de l’Université de Paris pour obtenir le grade de docteur ès sciences physiques (Paris: Les Presses Universitaires de France, 1924), 34

Fig. 5

Source: Ştefania Mărăcineanu, Thèses présentées a la Faculté de Sciences de l’Université de Paris pour obtenir le grade de docteur ès sciences physiques (Paris: Les Presses Universitaires de France, 1924), 32

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Mme. Natalie Pigeard for allowing my access to Ştefania Mărăcineanu’s letters from the Museé Curie archives.

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  1. Department of Nuclear Physics, Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, 077125, Bucharest-Măgurele, Romania

    Dorel Bucurescu

  2. Advanced Studies in Physics, Center of the Romanian Academy, 13, Calea 13 Septembrie, District 5, Bucharest, Romania

    Dorel Bucurescu

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Dorel Bucurescu is senior researcher at the Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, and the Advanced Studies in Physics Center of the Romanian Academy, in Bucharest, Romania; his main field of research is nuclear spectroscopy.

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Bucurescu, D. A Reconsideration of Ştefania Mărăcineanu’s Measurements of Polonium-210’s Half-Life: Understanding Her Claim to the Discovery of Artificial Radioactivity. Phys. Perspect. 22, 162–181 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00016-020-00259-9

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