Bequerel

Becquerel, Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852–1908), was a French physicist whose work helped establish the science of radioactivity. Born in Paris into a family of scientists, he conducted research at French scientific institutions and is best remembered for his discovery of spontaneous radiation in 1896.

In his famous experiment, Becquerel studied phosphorescent materials such as uranium salts. He found that a sealed photographic plate would be fogged even when kept in darkness and shielded from light, indicating that the uranium salts emitted radiation without external stimulation. This observation demonstrated a new form of natural radiation and laid the groundwork for the study of radioactivity by others, including Marie and Pierre Curie.

For his contributions, Becquerel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, jointly with Pierre and Marie Curie, recognizing their investigations into radioactivity. The discovery revolutionized understanding of atomic processes and had lasting impacts on physics, chemistry, medicine, and energy research.

The becquerel, symbol Bq, is the SI unit of radioactivity and is defined as one disintegration per second. It was named in his honor by the CGPM in 1975. The unit is used to quantify the activity of radioactive sources.

Note: The surname is spelled Becquerel; a common misspelling is Bequerel. The term “Becquerel” is associated with the scientist and with the unit used to measure radioactivity.