What was Irène Joliot-Curie's contribution to radioactivity?
Our central contribution was the creation of artificial radioactive elements. Prior to our work, radioactivity was understood as a property of certain naturally occurring elements. Through careful experimentation, we demonstrated that it was possible to induce radioactivity in stable elements by bombarding them with particles. Specifically, we observed that aluminum, when subjected to alpha radiation, emitted positrons and transformed into a radioactive isotope of phosphorus. This discovery opened up the entire field of artificial radioactivity, allowing for the production of tailored radioactive isotopes for a wide range of scientific and medical purposes.
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