Chapter Ⅱ　Married Life

With my marriage there began for me a new existence entirely different from the solitary life that I had known during the preceding years. My husband and I were so closely united by our affection and our common work that we passed nearly all of our time together. I have only a few letters from him, for we were so little apart. My husband spent all the time he could spare from his teaching at his research work in the laboratory of the school in which he was professor and I obtained authorization to work with him.

Our living apartment was near the school, so we lost little time in going and coming. As our material resources were limited, I was obliged to attend to most of the housekeeping myself, particularly the preparation of meals. It was not easy to reconcile these household duties with my scientific work, yet, with good will, I managed it. The great thing was that we were alone together in the little home which gave us a peace and intimacy that were very enjoyable for us.

At the same time that I was working in the laboratory, I still had to take a few study courses, for I had decided to take part in the examination for a certificate that would allow me to teach young girls. If I succeeded in this, I would be entitled to be named professor. In August, 1896, after having devoted several months to preparation, I came out first in the examination.

第二章　婚后生活

婚后的生活對我來說，是全新的，這與前些年那單寒羈旅的生活是有著天壤之別的。我同丈夫情意相投，相同的志趣愛好和共同的工作將我們密切地聯(lián)系在一起，幾乎形影不離，因此我只收藏著皮埃爾寫給我的為數(shù)不多的幾封信。我的丈夫在教學(xué)之余，幾乎把時間全都用于在他所教學(xué)的學(xué)校實驗室里進行實驗了，我也獲準(zhǔn)同他一起在實驗室里工作。

我們就住在學(xué)校附近，所以來去不用花多少時間。由于收入微薄，我不得不花許多時間來料理家務(wù)，特別是得自己動手做飯。這就與我們的學(xué)習(xí)和研究產(chǎn)生了沖突，要處理好這一矛盾并非易事。幸虧我還算堅強，勉強地能夠把這種矛盾處理好。令我尤為高興的是，我們小家庭的生活并沒有被這些家務(wù)事所攪亂，我們?nèi)耘f能夠過上溫馨平靜的日子。

在實驗室工作的同時，我還不得不學(xué)習(xí)一些課程，因為我下定決心要參加師資合格證書考試，這樣日后便可以在女子中學(xué)任教，也可以被授予教授的頭銜了。經(jīng)過幾個月的努力，1896年8月，我憑借第一名的優(yōu)異成績很順利地通過了考試。

Our principal distraction from the close work of the laboratory consisted in walks or bicycle rides in the country. My husband greatly enjoyed the out-of-doors and took great interest in the plants and animals of woods and meadows. Hardly a corner in the vicinity of Paris was unknown to him. I also loved the country and these excursions were a great joy for me as well as to him, relieving our mind from the tension of the scientific work. We used to bring home bunches of flowers. Sometimes we forgot all about the time and got back late at night. We visited regularly my husband's parents where our room was always ready. In the vacation we went on longer outings by means of our bicycles. In this way we covered much ground in Auvergne and in the Cevennes and visited several regions at the seashore. We took a great delight in these long all-day excursions, arriving at night always in a new place. If we stayed in one place too long, my husband began to wish to get back to the laboratory. It is also in vacation time that we visited once my family in the Carpathian mountains. My husband learned some Polish in view of this journey to Poland.

But first of all in our life was our scientific work. My husband gave much care to the preparation of his courses, and I gave him some assistance in this, which, at the time, helped me in my education. However, most of our time was devoted to our laboratory researches.

除了在實驗室工作，我們主要的休閑方式就是散步或者騎自行車去郊游。皮埃爾十分喜歡戶外活動，對森林里的動植物有著很大的興趣。他的足跡遍布了巴黎附近的所有森林。我向來也喜愛農(nóng)村，所以經(jīng)常同皮埃爾饒有興致地騎車郊游。這種郊游于我于他都有很大的好處，可以使我們的大腦在緊張的科研之后得到充分的放松，令緊張的心情得以緩解。郊游回來的時候，我們還經(jīng)常會帶幾束香氣撲鼻的花草回家。有時候，因為玩兒得高興，我們竟然會忘了時間，直到深夜才想起回家。除此之外，我們還會定期地去看望皮埃爾的父母，他們給我們留著專用的房間。假期的時候，我們可以騎著自行車，跑到更遠(yuǎn)的地方去。我們的足跡遍布奧弗涅、塞樊納山區(qū)和海邊的許多地方。我倆都很喜歡全天的長距離遠(yuǎn)游，每天晚上都要找到一個新的地方休息。如果在同一個地方停留得太久，皮埃爾就老會想著回實驗室去干活兒。有一個假期，我們一塊兒去喀爾巴阡山區(qū)看望了我的家人，而且，因為這次遠(yuǎn)行，皮埃爾還學(xué)會說了幾句波蘭話。

但是，在我們的生活之中，最重要的自然還是科學(xué)研究。皮埃爾對他所教授的課程特別認(rèn)真，備課也很仔細(xì)。我有時也幫助他收集一些資料。在這一過程中，我同樣也有所收獲。不過，我們還是將大部分時間用于在實驗室里進行科學(xué)研究。

My husband did not then have a private laboratory. He could, to some extent, use the laboratory of the school for his own work, but found more freedom by installing himself in some unused corner of the Physics School building. I thus learned from his example that one could work happily even in very insufficient quarters. At this time my husband was occupied with researches on crystals, while I undertook an investigation of the magnetic properties of steel. This work was completed and published in 1897.

In that same year the birth of our first daughter brought a great change in our life. A few weeks later my husband's mother died and his father came to live with us. We took a small house with a garden at the border of Paris and continued to occupy this house as long as my husband lived.

It became a serious problem how to take care of our little Irene and of our home without giving up my scientific work. Such a renunciation would have been very painful to me, and my husband would not even think of it; he used to say that he had got a wife made expressly for him to share all his preoccupations. Neither of us would contemplate abandoning what was so precious to both.

Of course we had to have a servant, but I personally saw to all the details of the child's care. While I was in the laboratory, she was in the care of her grandfather, who loved her tenderly and whose own life was made brighter by her. So the close union of our family enabled me to meet my obligations. Things were particularly difficult only in case of more exceptional events, such as a child's illness, when sleepless nights interrupted the normal course of life.

在那時候，皮埃爾還不曾擁有自己的實驗室。學(xué)校的實驗室雖然在某種程度上能夠使用，但卻滿足不了他的研究需要。考慮到這點，他就將學(xué)校大樓中一些沒有什么用的角落辟作“實驗角”。那些地方雖然狹小，但卻能夠想用就用，不受約束。這件事使我悟出了一個道理：人可以在條件不甚滿意的情況下，想辦法改善條件，從而心情愉快地工作。那一時期，皮埃爾忙于晶體研究，我則在研究鋼的磁性。1897年，我結(jié)束了這一研究，并于當(dāng)年發(fā)表了研究報告。

那一年，我們的第一個孩子——女兒艾萊娜出生了，這使我們的生活發(fā)生了很大變化。幾個星期后，皮埃爾的母親去世了。于是我們便在巴黎郊區(qū)租了一個附帶花園的小房子，把他父親接過來和我們同住。皮埃爾生前，我們一直住在那里。

女兒的出生令一個嚴(yán)重的問題出現(xiàn)在了我們面前：怎樣才能做到既可以哺育照料女兒又不至于放棄科學(xué)研究呢？放棄科學(xué)研究，對我來說，無疑是一種巨大的痛苦，皮埃爾同樣認(rèn)為我不應(yīng)該放棄研究，并且他從來就沒有這么想過。因為他經(jīng)常在說，上帝特意為他造就了我這樣一個好妻子，就是為了讓我與他分享一切的。我們兩個都沒有考慮過要放棄我們?nèi)绱苏鋹鄣目蒲泄ぷ鳌?/p>

這樣一來，我們就必須要雇一個女傭了，但我仍然親自照料女兒。當(dāng)我去實驗室干活兒時，就把女兒交給她的爺爺照看。爺爺十分疼愛自己的孫女，他的生活也因為小孫女的出生而增添了無盡的樂趣。家人之間相互的關(guān)懷、體諒，使我能夠既安心地從事研究，又沒有耽誤對女兒的照料。只有當(dāng)遇到特殊情況時，比如女兒生病什么的，我才因需要整宿整宿地照看她而打亂生活規(guī)律。

It can be easily understood that there was no place in our life for worldly relations. We saw but a few friends, scientific workers, like ourselves, with whom we talked in our home or in our garden, while I did some sewing for my little girl. We also maintained affectionate relations with my husband's brother and his family. But I was separated from all my relatives, as my sister had left Paris with her husband to live in Poland.

It was under this mode of quiet living, organized according to our desires, that we achieved the great work of our lives, work begun about the end of 1897 and lasting for many years.

I had decided on a theme for my doctorate. My attention had been drawn to the interesting experiments of Henri Becquerel on the salts of the rare metal uranium. Becquerel had shown that by placing some uranium salt on a photographic plate, covered with black paper, the plate would be affected as if light had fallen on it. The effect is produced by special rays which are emitted by the uranium salt and are different from ordinary luminous rays as they can pass through black paper. Becquerel also showed that these rays can discharge an electroscope. He at first thought that the uranium rays were produced as a result of exposing the uranium salt to light, but experiment showed that salts kept for several months in the dark continued the peculiar rays.

My husband and I were much excited by this new phenomenon, and I resolved to undertake the special study of it. It seemed to me that the first thing to do was to measure the phenomenon with precision. In this I decided to use that property of the rays which enabled them to discharge an electroscope. However, instead of the usual electroscope, I used a more perfect apparatus. One of the models of the apparatus used by me for these first measurements is now in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Philadelphia.

由于我們忙于事業(yè)，不愿意受到不相干事情的打擾，所以我們聯(lián)系的朋友不多。偶爾有一兩位像我們一樣的科學(xué)工作者來訪，我們通常在屋子或花園里交談，在這同時我還經(jīng)常為女兒做些針線活什么的。在親戚方面，僅有皮埃爾的哥哥以及他的家人同我們一直來往密切，在我的姐姐、姐夫回到波蘭之后，我同娘家的親戚就很少來往了，因為離得太遠(yuǎn)。

正是這種平靜并且完全符合我們心意的生活方式才使我們得以完成一生中的偉大事業(yè)。自1897年開始，這種科學(xué)研究事業(yè)就從未中斷過。

我決定要為我的博士論文準(zhǔn)備論題了。當(dāng)時，亨利·貝克萊爾正進行著稀有金屬鈾鹽的實驗。這種非常有意思的實驗，吸引了我的注意力。當(dāng)貝克萊爾將鈾鹽用不透光的黑紙密封好放在照相底片上時，發(fā)現(xiàn)底片會被感光，好像受到過日光照射似的。貝克萊爾認(rèn)為，底片被感光，是因為鈾鹽能夠放射出一種與日光不同的射線，它可以穿透不透光的黑紙。此外，通過實驗，貝克萊爾還證明這種射線可以使得驗電器放電。剛開始的時候，貝克萊爾錯以為鈾鹽在日光下的暴曬是鈾鹽射線得以產(chǎn)生的原因，但他后來發(fā)現(xiàn)在黑暗中存放幾個月之后，鈾鹽仍舊可以放出這種射線。

皮埃爾同我都對這種新發(fā)現(xiàn)的射線具有極大的興趣，我更是下定決心要對它的性質(zhì)加以研究。要想研究這種新射線，首先就得對它做出精確的定量測量。于是我便利用驗電器放電的特性開始測量，不過我不是像貝克萊爾那樣使用普通的驗電器，而是換用了一種能做定量測量的設(shè)備。我當(dāng)初用來進行測量的這些設(shè)備的模型，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)被陳列在美國費城醫(yī)學(xué)院了。

I was not long in obtaining interesting results. My determinations showed that the emission of the rays is an atomic property of the uranium, whatever the physical or chemical conditions of the salt were. Any substance containing uranium is as much more active in emitting rays, as it contains more of this element.

I then thought to find out if there were other substances possessing this remarkable property of uranium, and soon found that substances containing thorium behaved in a similar way, and that this behavior depended similarly on an atomic property of thorium. I was now about to undertake a detailed study of the uranium and thorium rays when I discovered a new interesting fact.

I had occasion to examine a certain number of minerals. A few of them showed activity; they were those containing either uranium or thorium. The activity of these minerals would have had nothing astonishing about it, if it had been in proportion to the quantities of uranium or thorium contained in them. But it was not so. Some of these minerals revealed an activity three or four times greater than that of uranium. I verified this surprising fact carefully, and could not doubt its truth. Speculating about the reason for this, there seemed to be but one explanation. There must be, I thought, some unknown substance, very active, in these minerals. My husband agreed with me and I urged that we search at once for this hypothetical substance, thinking that, with joined efforts, a result would be quickly obtained. Neither of us could foresee that in beginning this work we were to enter the path of a new science which we should follow for all our future.

沒過多久，我便獲得了有趣的結(jié)果。實驗結(jié)果表明，這種射線的放射其實是鈾元素原子特性的一種，而與鈾鹽的物理或者化學(xué)性質(zhì)無關(guān)。任何鈾鹽，如果它所含鈾元素越多，放出的射線也就越強。

于是我又想進一步地弄清楚，是否還有其他的元素也能夠像鈾鹽一樣放射出相同的射線。不久我便發(fā)現(xiàn)，釷元素也具有相同的特性。正當(dāng)準(zhǔn)備對鈾與釷的放射性做進一步的研究時，我又發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個有意思的情況。

我曾經(jīng)有用放射性方法對一定數(shù)量的礦石進行檢驗的經(jīng)歷。如果這些礦石能夠產(chǎn)生同樣的射線的話，那就能夠確定它們含有鈾或釷。假如這些礦石的放射強度和礦石所含的鈾或者釷的成分成正比的話，那也就沒什么好驚詫的了。但事實上卻不是如此，有些礦石的放射性強度為鈾的三四倍。對這一新發(fā)現(xiàn)我進行了仔細(xì)的查核，最后確定這是毋庸置疑的事實。我認(rèn)真分析了這一現(xiàn)象，得出了唯一的一種解釋：這種礦石中含有一種還不為人知的元素，其放射性遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)勝過鈾和釷。皮埃爾也贊同我的分析，于是我便希望可以盡快發(fā)現(xiàn)這一神秘的元素。我堅信，只要我和皮埃爾共同努力，就一定可以獲得成功。然而，隨著研究的深入，我們卻走上了一條通往新科學(xué)的道路，這是我們始料不及的，而且，從此我們就再也沒離開過這條新的科學(xué)之路。

Of course, I did not expect, even at the beginning, to find a new element in any large quantity, as the minerals had already been analyzed with some precision. At least, I thought there might be as much as one percent of the unknown substance in the minerals. But the more we worked, the clearer we realized that the new radioactive element could exist only in quite minute proportion and that, in consequence, its activity must be very great. Would we have insisted, despite the scarcity of our means of research, if we had known the true proportion of what we were searching for, no one can tell; all that can be said now is that the constant progress of our work held us absorbed in a passionate research, while the difficulties were ever increasing. As a matter of fact, it was only after several years of most arduous labor that we finally succeeded in completely separating the new substance, now known to everybody as radium. Here is, briefly, the story of the search and discovery.

As we did not know, at the beginning, any of the chemical properties of the unknown substance, but only that it emits rays, it was by these rays that we had to search. We first undertook the analysis of a pitchblende from St. Joachimsthal. Analyzing this ore by the usual chemical methods, we added an examination of its different parts for radioactivity, by the use of our delicate electrical apparatus. This was the foundation of a new method of chemical analysis which, following our work, has been extended, with the result that a large number of radioactive elements have been discovered.

最初的時候，我并沒有指望這種礦石中含有較多數(shù)量的新元素，這是因為它早已被人多次研究分析過了。我開始的估計是，這種礦石中的新元素的含量不會超過百分之一。隨著研究的不斷深入，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)其真實的含量要遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地小于百分之一，所以這種新元素的放射性非常強。假如從開始我們就知道這種元素的含量微乎其微的話，那就真不知道自己還能否有決心、有勇氣繼續(xù)下去，因為我們的設(shè)備很差且又經(jīng)費不足?，F(xiàn)在回想起來，總是覺得幸虧自己不知道難度會這么大，決心才會很大，雖然真正干起來之后困難重重，但研究成果的不斷顯現(xiàn)，使我的勁頭兒大增，也就不去想那些困難了。經(jīng)過數(shù)年的勤奮努力之后，我們終于將這種新元素分離了出來，它就是今天眾人皆知的鐳。現(xiàn)在我將我們的研究情況和發(fā)現(xiàn)它的情況作一下簡略的介紹。

開始進行研究時，我們對這種未知元素的任何化學(xué)性質(zhì)都不了解，僅僅知道它的放射性非常強，于是我們就牢牢抓住這條唯一的線索進行研究。首先就是想辦法將鈾瀝青礦從圣約阿希姆斯塔爾運過來，并對它進行分析研究。除了利用常見的化學(xué)分析方法之外，我們還運用我們發(fā)明出來的精密計電器，精確地測量這一元素不同部位的放射性。這種方法后來成為一種全新的化學(xué)分析法的基礎(chǔ)，并且在我們之后，這一分析法被逐漸地進行改進和完善，被許多人采用，他們也因此發(fā)現(xiàn)了另外幾種放射性元素。

In a few weeks we could be convinced that our prevision had been right, for the activity was concentrating in a regular way. And, in a few months, we could separate from the pitchblende a substance accompanying the bismuth, much more active than uranium, and having well defined chemical properties. In July, 1898, we announced the existence of this new substance, to which I gave the name of polonium, in memory of my native country.

While engaged in this work on polonium, we had also discovered that, accompanying the barium separated from the pitchblende, there was another new element. After several months more of close work we were able to separate this second new substance, which was afterwards shown to be much more important than polonium. In December, 1898, we could announce the discovery of this new and now famous element, to which we gave the name of radium.

However, the greatest part of the material work had yet to be done. We had, tobe sure, discovered the existence of the remarkable new elements, but it was chiefly by their radiant properties that these new substances were distinguished from the bismuth and barium with which they were mixed in minute quantities. We had still to separate them as pure elements. On this work we now started.

We were very poorly equipped with facilities for this purpose. It was necessary to subject large quantities of ore to careful chemical treatment. We had no money, no suitable laboratory, no personal help for our great and difficult undertaking. It was like creating something out of nothing, and if my earlier studying years had once been called by my brother-in-law the heroic period of my life, I can say without exaggeration that the period on which my husband and I now entered was truly the heroic one of our common life.

研究進行了沒幾個星期，我們便堅信了我們的預(yù)測是正確的，因為那個未知新元素的放射性在按照一定的規(guī)律增強。又過了幾個月后，我們便將一種同鉍相混合的元素從鈾瀝青中分離出來，其放射性遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過鈾元素，這種新元素帶有明確的化學(xué)性質(zhì)。1898年7月，我們便對外公布了這種新元素的存在，并為它命名為釙^〔1〕，以此來懷念我的祖國波蘭。

發(fā)現(xiàn)釙的同時，我們又發(fā)現(xiàn)從鈾瀝青里分離出的鋇鹽中含有另外一種未知的元素。通過幾個月的緊張工作，我們終于將第二種新元素分離出來了，并且后來才知道它比釙更重要。1898年12月，我們公布了這一發(fā)現(xiàn)，并命名這種新元素為鐳。

雖然我們確信已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這兩種新元素，但仍舊還有許多實際的工作需要去做，因為我們只是憑借放射性的特性從鉍鹽與鋇鹽中發(fā)現(xiàn)了微乎其微的新元素，現(xiàn)在還需要以純元素的形式將它們分離出來。我們很快便投入到了這項工作中去。

但是，這項工作卻并不容易，因為我們的設(shè)備太差，而且還需要大量的原礦進行化學(xué)分析。我們既沒有錢來購買原礦，也沒有實驗室去做分析實驗，更沒有助手相幫。我們要白手起家，一切從頭干起。如果像我的姐夫所說的那樣，我在巴黎的早期學(xué)習(xí)時期是我一生中英勇頑強的時期的話，我則敢不夸張地說，我與皮埃爾共同從事這項研究的時期就是我們共同生活中的最偉大、最英勇的時期。

We knew by our experiments that in the treatment of pitchblende at the uranium plant of St. Joachimsthal, radium must have been left in the residues, and, with the permission of the Austrian government, which owned the plant, we succeeded in securing a certain quantity of these residues, then quite valueless, and used them for extraction of radium. How glad I was when the sacks arrived, with the brown dust mixed with pine needles, and when the activity proved even greater than that of the primitive ore! It was a stroke of luck that the residues had not been thrown far away or disposed of in some way, but left in a heap in the pine wood near the plant. Some time later, the Austrian government, on the proposition of the Academy of Science of Vienna, let us have several tons of similar residues at a low price. With this material was prepared all the radium I had in my laboratory up to the date when I received the precious gift from the American women.

The School of Physics could give us no suitable premises, but for lack of anything better, the Director permitted us to use an abandoned shed which had been in service as a dissecting room of the School of Medicine. Its glass roof did not afford complete shelter against rain; the heat was suffocating in summer, and the bitter cold of winter was only a little lessened by the iron stove, except in its immediate vicinity. There was no question of obtaining the needed proper apparatus in common use by chemists. We simply had some old pine-wood tables with furnaces and gas burners. We had to use the adjoining yard for those of our chemical operations that involved producing irritating gases; even then the gas often filled our shed. With this equipment we entered on our exhausting work.

先前的實驗使我們相信，在圣約阿希姆斯塔爾煉鈾廠被冶煉出來的鈾瀝青礦廢渣中，肯定含有鐳元素。該工廠屬于奧地利管轄，我們想辦法獲準(zhǔn)能夠無償?shù)氐玫竭@些廢渣。廢渣本身并不值錢，但是如何把它們弄到巴黎卻使人大傷腦筋。幾經(jīng)周折，我們成功地將這些混有松針的褐色廢渣裝在袋子里面，運到我們的實驗室門前，那一刻，我高興得跳了起來。后來，當(dāng)?shù)弥@廢渣的放射性竟然比原礦還要強的時候，我們真的是驚詫不已。這些廢渣沒有經(jīng)過任何處理，直接堆放在工廠外的松樹林里，這真是幫了我們大忙了。后來，應(yīng)維也納科學(xué)院的要求，奧地利政府又允許我們以極低的價格收購了好幾噸這種廢渣。我們就是利用這種廢渣才從實驗室里分離出鐳來的。直到后來，美國婦女贈送給我的鐳才是從其他礦石中提煉出來的。

皮埃爾的學(xué)校并沒有為我們提供適合的實驗場地，但幸運的是校長允許我們使用以前作為解剖教學(xué)用房的一處廢棄的木棚。在它的頂上有一個挺大的玻璃天窗，但卻有多處裂痕，每當(dāng)下雨就會漏水。棚里面夏天悶熱潮濕，冬天陰冷難耐。雖然可以生爐子取暖，但也僅是火爐旁有那么點熱氣而已。除此之外，我們還需自己掏錢購置所有必備的儀器裝置。木棚里僅有一張破舊的松木桌與幾個爐臺、汽燈。當(dāng)做化學(xué)實驗時，經(jīng)常會產(chǎn)生一種刺激性很強的有毒氣體，因此我們只好把這種實驗移到院子里去做，就是這樣，棚內(nèi)仍舊有毒氣彌漫。在如此惡劣的條件之下，我們拼命地做著實驗。

Yet it was in this miserable old shed that we passed the best and happiest years of our life, devoting our entire days to our work. Often I had to prepare our lunch in the shed, so as not to interrupt some particularly important operation. Sometimes I had to spend a whole day mixing a boiling mass with a heavy iron rod nearly as large as myself. I would be broken with fatigue at the day's end. Other days, on the contrary, the work would be a most minute and delicate fractional crystallization, in the effort to concentrate the radium. I was then annoyed by the floating dust of iron and coal from which I could not protect my precious products. But I shall never be able to express the joy of the untroubled quietness of this atmosphere of research and the excitement of actual progress with the confident hope of still better results. The feeling of discouragement that sometimes came after some unsuccessful toil did not last long and gave way to renewed activity. We had happy moments devoted to a quiet discussion of our work, walking around our shed.

One of our joys was to go into our workroom at night; we then perceived on all sides the feebly luminous silhouettes of the bottles or capsules containing our products. It was really a lovely sight and one always new to us. The glowing tubes looked like faint, fairy lights.

雖然如此，我們卻認(rèn)為在這個極其簡陋的木棚中度過的時光，是我們一生當(dāng)中最美好最快樂的。為了不中斷一些重要的實驗，我經(jīng)常就在木棚里隨便做點吃的當(dāng)做我們的午餐。有的時候，我不得不一整天都用一根同我身體差不多重的大鐵棒去對沸騰著的瀝青鈾礦進行攪動。等到傍晚時分，工作結(jié)束的時候，我就會像散了架似的，連話都不想說了。還有的時候，我又要進行極其精密的結(jié)晶、分離工作，這時我又會因為室內(nèi)四處飄浮著的灰塵，影響到濃縮鐳的程序，使我沒有辦法保護好分離出的“寶貝”而苦惱。唯一令我覺得滿意的是，沒有人會來打擾，我們可以安靜地進行我們的實驗。當(dāng)實驗進行得很順利，可能獲得令人滿意的結(jié)果時，我們就會歡欣鼓舞，激動之情簡直無以言表。但有的時候，我們干了很久卻仍然見不到成效，這時沮喪失望的心情就會困擾我們。不過，這種情況不會持續(xù)太久，不多時我們就會又去考慮新的設(shè)想和工作了。工作之余，我倆便會一邊在木棚中踱來踱去，一邊對我們的實驗進行冷靜的討論，這個時候，我們的快樂也是難以言表的。

還有一件令我們感到快樂的事情，那就是，夜晚跑到木棚里去。這時我們能夠看到那被我們提煉、分離出來的寶貝正在玻璃瓶或者玻璃管里向四周散發(fā)出淡淡的光芒，真是美麗極了，令我們感到既新奇又激動，那閃爍著光彩的寶貝，宛如神話中的神燈。

Thus the months passed, and our efforts, hardly interrupted by short vacations, brought forth more and more complete evidence. Our faith grew ever stronger, and our work being more and more known, we found means to get new quantities of raw material and to carry on some of our crude processes in a factory, allowing me to give more time to the delicate finishing treatment.

At this stage I devoted myself especially to the purification of the radium, my husband being absorbed by the study of the physical properties of the rays emitted by the new substances. It was only after treating one ton of pitchblende residues that I could get definite results. Indeed we know today that even in the best minerals there are not more than a few decigrammes of radium in a ton of raw material.

At last the time came when the isolated substances showed all the characters of a pure chemical body. This body, the radium, gives a characteristic spectrum, and I was able to determine for it an atomic weight much higher than that of the barium. This was achieved in 1902. I then possessed one decigramme of very pure radium chloride. It had taken me almost four years to produce the kind of evidence which chemical science demands, that radium is truly a new element. One year would probably have been enough for the same purpose, if reasonable means had been at my disposal. The demonstration that cost so much effort was the basis of the new science of radioactivity.

In later years I was able to prepare several decigrammes of pure radium salt, to make a more accurate determination of the atomic weight and even to isolate the pure radium metal. However, 1902 was the year in which the existence and character of radium were definitely established.

幾個月里，除了短暫的假期以外，我們從沒有中斷過實驗研究。研究結(jié)果越來越明顯地表明，我們正一步一步地走向成功，所以，我們的信心也就越來越堅定了。這時，我們的研究工作也逐漸受到了人們的關(guān)注。因此我們不但可以購買到更多的廢渣，還可以在工廠里完成初步的提煉，這就極大地方便了我們，令我們有更多的時間去進行精確的分離工作。

到了這個階段，我就專門從事純凈鐳的提煉工作，而皮埃爾則專心對新元素散發(fā)出的射線的物理性質(zhì)進行研究。當(dāng)我們處理完一噸鈾瀝青礦渣之后，得出了一個確定的結(jié)論：在1噸含鐳最豐富的原礦中，鐳的含量也不足幾分克。

1902年，我們提煉出了一分克特別純凈的氯化鐳。這些氯化鐳顯示出了元素所應(yīng)具有的性質(zhì)，而且具有不同于其他元素的特別光譜。我們還確定了它的原子量，其值遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)大于鋇。就這樣，我們得到了確定鐳為一種獨立元素的全部必要證據(jù)。這一工作耗時四年，但是如果資金充足、設(shè)備齊全的話，也許只需一年我們就能夠完成了。我們嘔心瀝血求得的結(jié)果，為放射性這門新的學(xué)科奠定了基礎(chǔ)。

幾年后，我準(zhǔn)備了幾分克絕對純凈的鐳鹽，更加精確地測定出了它的原子量，甚至還提煉出了純粹的金屬鐳元素本身。不過，確定鐳的存在及其性質(zhì)的年份仍舊是1902年。

We had been able to live for several years entirely engrossed in the work of research, but gradually circumstances changed. In 1900 my husband was offered a professorship in the University of Geneva, but almost simultaneously he obtained a position of assistant professor at the Sorbonne, and I was made professor at the Normal Superior School for young girls at Sevres. So we remained in Paris.

I became much interested in my work in the Normal School, and endeavored to develop more fully the practical laboratory exercises of the pupils. These pupils were girls of about twenty years who had entered the school after severe examination and had still to work very seriously to meet the requirements that would enable them to be named professors in the lycees. All these young women worked with great eagerness, and it was a pleasure for me to direct their studies in physics.

But a growing notoriety, because of the announcement of our discoveries, began to trouble our quiet work in the laboratory, and, little by little, life became more difficult. In 1903 I finished my doctor's thesis and obtained the degree. At the end of the same year the Nobel prize was awarded jointly to Becquerel, my husband and me for the discovery of radioactivity and new radioactive elements. This event greatly increased the publicity of our work. For some time there was no more peace. Visitors and demands for lectures and articles interrupted every day.

這幾年來，我們夫婦兩人傾注全部心血進行研究，同時，我們的社會地位也產(chǎn)生了變化。在1900年，日內(nèi)瓦大學(xué)想要聘任皮埃爾為教授，也就在這個時候，他在巴黎大學(xué)得到了一個副教授的職位，而我也出任于一所女子高等師范學(xué)校的教授，學(xué)校位于塞弗爾。因此我們沒有去日內(nèi)瓦，而是留在了巴黎。

在女子高等師范學(xué)校，我工作得非常開心，我盡量讓學(xué)生們到實驗室去實際操作，以便使她們的動手能力得到提高。這所學(xué)校里全部是20歲左右的女生，都是通過嚴(yán)格的考試才被錄取的，在入學(xué)之后，她們?nèi)匀慌Φ貙W(xué)習(xí)才能通過考試，成為中學(xué)的老師。這個學(xué)校里的每個學(xué)生都勤奮好學(xué)，作為老師，我自然也愿意盡自己的全力去教好她們的物理。

但是，自從這一發(fā)現(xiàn)公布之日起，我們的知名度便日漸高漲了，以致影響到實驗室原有的寧靜，我們的研究工作逐漸受到了干擾。1903年，我完成了我的博士論文，并且獲得了博士學(xué)位。在這一年的年末，貝克萊爾、皮埃爾和我因為發(fā)現(xiàn)了放射性與放射性元素而共同獲得了諾貝爾物理學(xué)獎。在那之后，我們的成就被報紙雜志大加頌揚，使我們在好長一段時間內(nèi)都沒法安心工作，每天登門造訪的人都不斷，有的請我們?nèi)パ葜v，有的向我們約稿子。

The award of the Nobel prize was a great honor. It is also known that the material means provided by this prize was much greater than is usual in prizes for science. This was a great help in the continuation of our researches. Unhappily, we were overtired and had a succession of failures of health for the one or the other of us, so that it was not until 1905 that we were able to go to Stockholm, where my husband gave his Nobel lecture and where we were well received.

The fatigue resulting from the effort exceeding our forces, imposed by the unsatisfactory conditions of our labor, was augmented by the invasion of publicity. The overturn of our voluntary isolation was a cause of real suffering for us and had all the effect of disaster. It was serious trouble brought into the organization of our life, and I have already explained how indispensable was our freedom from external distraction, in order to maintain our family life and our scientific activity. Of course, people who contribute to that kind of trouble generally mean it kindly. It is only that they do not realize the conditions of the problem.

In 1904 our second daughter, Eve Denise, came to us. I had, of course, to interrupt my work in the laboratory for a while. In the same year, because of the awarding of the Nobel prize and the general public recognition, a new chair of physics was created in Sorbonne, and my husband was named as its occupant. At the same time I was named chief of work in the laboratory that was to be created for him. But in reality the laboratory was not constructed then, and only a few rooms taken from other uses were available to us.

In 1906 just as we were definitely giving up the old shed laboratory where we had been so happy, there came the dreadful catastrophe which took my husband away from me and left me alone to bring up our children and, at the same time, to continue our work of research.

獲得諾貝爾獎是一項很大的榮譽，而且，這筆獎金數(shù)額要比其他獎金大很多，這對我們今后的研究工作是大有裨益的?？上У氖牵丝涛覀円咽蔷Ａ?，兩個人中經(jīng)常有一個體力不支，所以當(dāng)年我們都沒能前往斯德哥爾摩領(lǐng)獎和發(fā)表演說。直到1905年，我們才到了那里，由皮埃爾作了諾貝爾獎的獲獎感言。在那里，我們受到了瑞典人民的熱情接待。

以前，極其惡劣的工作條件已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致我們的身心疲憊。現(xiàn)在，獲獎后報紙雜志的大加頌揚導(dǎo)致探訪者不斷，更使我們疲于應(yīng)付。我們所喜歡的平靜、有規(guī)律的生活被徹底破壞了，這給我們的工作和生活帶來了很大的影響。我前面已經(jīng)說過，必須在不受外界任何干擾的情況下，我們才能繼續(xù)正常的家庭生活與科學(xué)研究工作。前來拜訪的人雖說用心很好，但卻不知道這樣做會給我們帶來什么樣的后果。

1904年，我們的二女兒艾娃·德尼斯出生了，我不得不暫時停止了實驗研究。就在這一年，因為榮獲諾貝爾獎，再加上社會方面的贊揚，巴黎大學(xué)聘任皮埃爾擔(dān)任他們新開設(shè)的一個講座的教授，并且還為他創(chuàng)辦了一個實驗室，任命我為實驗室主任。實際上這個實驗室并不是新建的，只是把原先空置的房間收拾出來讓我們使用而已。

1906年，正當(dāng)我們準(zhǔn)備告別那已使用多年并帶給我們無限歡樂的木棚時，一場可怕的災(zāi)難降臨了。這場災(zāi)難奪走了我的皮埃爾，只留下我一個人撫養(yǎng)孩子并繼續(xù)我倆的事業(yè)。

It is impossible for me to express the profoundness and importance of the crisis brought into my life by the loss of the one who had been my closest companion and best friend. Crushed by the blow, I did not feel able to face the future. I could not forget, however, what my husband used sometimes to say, that, even deprived of him, I ought to continue my work.

The death of my husband, coming immediately after the general knowledge of the discoveries with which his name is associated, was felt by the public, and especially by the scientific circles, to be a national misfortune. It was largely under the influence of this emotion that the Faculty of Sciences of Paris decided to offer me the chair, as professor, which my husband had occupied only one year and a half in the Sorbonne. It was an exceptional decision, as up to then no woman had held such a position. The University by doing this offered me a precious mark of esteem and gave me opportunity to pursue the researches which otherwise might have had to be abandoned. I had not expected a gift of this kind; I never had any other ambition than to be able to work freely for science. The honor that now came to me was deeply painful under the cruel circumstances of its coming. Besides I wondered whether I would be able to face such a grave responsibility. After much hesitation, I decided that I ought at least to try to meet the task, and so I began in 1906 my teaching in the Sorbonne, as assistant professor, and two years later I was named titular professor.

這場災(zāi)難使我失去了人生旅途上最親密的伴侶與最要好的朋友，我真的無法用言語來表述它給我?guī)淼膰?yán)重影響。這沉重的打擊使我的精神處于崩潰狀態(tài)，感覺自己完全無法面對未來，但是，皮埃爾的那句話卻始終縈繞在我心中，令我不能忘懷：“即使我不在了，你也必須堅持工作下去?！?/p>

皮埃爾去世的時候正是他的名字與成就為公眾所認(rèn)知的時期，所以在社會上，特別是在科學(xué)界，大家都很惋惜，普遍認(rèn)為他的去世是國家的巨大損失。因此，巴黎科學(xué)教育界決定由我繼承皮埃爾任職一年半的講座教授的席位。這可以說是破例的決定，因為在過去，沒有一個婦女擔(dān)任過這種職務(wù)。巴黎大學(xué)的這一決定，確實讓我感到無上的榮耀，使我受到激勵，得以繼續(xù)進行原來的研究，否則的話，我可能就不得不放棄了。我本來并沒有期盼獲得這項殊榮，因為除了一心想為科學(xué)事業(yè)奮斗終生之外，我沒有任何的野心與奢望。這種情況下，授予我這一職務(wù)，更使我悲從中來。我擔(dān)心自己不能承擔(dān)起這一重任。幾經(jīng)思考，我決定試一試看。于是，從1906年秋天開始，我以副教授的身份開始在巴黎大學(xué)授課。兩年后，我被聘為教授。

In my new situation the difficulties of my life were considerably augmented, as I alone had now to carry the burden formerly weighing on my husband and me together. The cares of my young children required close vigilance; in this, my husband's father, who continued to live with us, willingly took his share. He was happy to be occupied with the little girls, whose company was his chief consolation after his son's death. By his effort and mine, the children had a bright home, even if we lived with our inner grief, which they were too young to realize. The strong desire of my fatherin-law being to live in the country, we took a house with a garden in Sceaux, a suburb of Paris, from which I could reach the city in half an hour.

This country life had great advantages, not only for my father-in-law, who enjoyed his new surroundings, and especially his garden, but also for my girls, who had the benefit of walks in the open country. But they were more separated from me, and it became necessary to have a governess for them. This position was filled first by one of my cousins, and then by a devoted woman who had already brought up the daughter of one of my sisters. Both of them were Polish, and in this way my daughters learned my native tongue. From time to time, some one of my Polish family came to see me in my grief, and we managed to meet in vacation time, at the seashore in France, and once in the mountains of Poland.

In 1910 we suffered the loss of my very dear father-in-law, after a long illness, which brought me many sorrowful days. I used to spend at his bedside as much time as I could, listening to his remembrances of passed years. His death affected deeply my elder daughter, who, at twelve, knew the value of the cheerful hours spent in his company.

自從皮埃爾離開之后，我生活上的困難就不可避免地大大增加了。以前由我和皮埃爾共同承擔(dān)的事情，現(xiàn)在只能由我獨自承擔(dān)了。我不得不親自撫養(yǎng)兩個孩子。皮埃爾的父親仍然和我們共同居住，并且主動提出和我共同承擔(dān)家庭的重任。他非常高興能夠幫著照料兩個孫女。失去兒子之后，兩個孫女成了他唯一的慰藉與歡樂。在他和我的共同努力下，孩子們才得以享受到家庭的幸福。我們決不將心中的隱痛在孩子們面前流露出來，因為她們年歲太小，不該讓她們過早地品嘗人生的痛苦。皮埃爾的父親喜歡鄉(xiāng)村生活，所以我們就在蘇城租了一座帶花園的屋子，它到巴黎城里只要半個小時。

生活在鄉(xiāng)間確實有很多好處，不僅我的公公從那里的環(huán)境，特別是那個花園中獲得了無限的享受，兩個女兒也得以在經(jīng)常去空曠的田野間玩耍的過程中受益。因為我白天要上班，經(jīng)常無法照顧女兒，所以只好請了一個保姆。第一個保姆是我的一個表親，后來又換成了一個很厚道的女子，她曾帶大過我一個姐姐的女兒。兩位保姆都是波蘭人，因此我的兩個女兒都會講波蘭話。我的波蘭親屬們也不時地來看望我、安慰我。我們一般都是在假期設(shè)法在法國海濱相聚，有一次還在波蘭山區(qū)待了一段日子。

我親愛的公公久病之后在1910年去世了，這令我傷心悲痛了好長一段時間。在他臥床不起期間，我盡可能地抽出時間在病床邊陪護他，聽他講述往事。對于爺爺?shù)氖攀溃业拇笈畠焊械接葹楸?，?dāng)時她已經(jīng)12歲了，已經(jīng)懂得爺爺?shù)年P(guān)愛是多么的重要了，她沒有辦法忘記往日祖孫倆相處的幸福時光。

There were few resources for the education of my daughters in Sceaux. The youngest one, a small child, needed principally a hygienic life, outdoor walks and quite elementary schooling. She had already shown a vivid intelligence and an unusual disposition for music. Her elder sister resembled her father in the form of her intelligence. She was not quick, but one could already see that she had a gift of reasoning power and that she would like science. She had some training in a private school in Paris, but I had not wanted to keep her in a lycee, as I have always found the class hours in these schools too long for the health of the children.

My view is that in the education of children the requirement of their growth and physical evolution should be respected, and that some time should be left for their artistic culture. In most schools, as they exist today, the time spent in various reading and writing exercises is too great, and the study required to be done at home too much. I also find these schools lacking, in general, in practical exercises to accompany the scientific studies.

With a few friends in the university circle who shared these views, we organized, therefore, a cooperative group for the education of our children, each of us taking charge of the teaching of a particular subject to all of the young people. We were all very busy with other things, and the children varied in age. Nevertheless, the little experiment thus made was very interesting. With a small number of classes we yet succeeded in reuniting the scientific and literary elements of a desirable culture. The courses in science were accompanied by practical exercises in which the children took great interest.

蘇城沒有太好的學(xué)校。當(dāng)時我的小女兒年歲尚小，需要的是于身心健康有利的生活環(huán)境，她需要戶外游戲、散步、初步的小學(xué)教育等?；顫?、聰穎的個性特點已經(jīng)在她的性格中顯現(xiàn)，對于音樂，她更是非比尋常地喜愛。她的姐姐有點像她父親，不太活潑，反應(yīng)也比較遲鈍，但是理解問題和推論的能力卻很強，似乎適合搞科學(xué)研究。她在巴黎的一所私人學(xué)校上過學(xué)，但我卻并不想讓她進中學(xué)念書，因為我總覺得中學(xué)的課程太多、課時太長，不利于青少年的成長發(fā)育。

關(guān)于孩子的教育，我認(rèn)為應(yīng)該順應(yīng)其身心健康發(fā)育、成長的需要。除此之外，還應(yīng)該盡可能多地讓孩子們學(xué)習(xí)文藝知識。但是，現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)的學(xué)校，都將過多的時間花費在了讀寫練習(xí)上，并且還有大量的家庭作業(yè)，令學(xué)生喘不過氣來。而且，這類學(xué)校所設(shè)置的大部分理科課程都和實踐相脫節(jié)。

大學(xué)的圈子中有一些朋友和我持同樣的觀點，所以我們便成立了一個互助合作小組，共同對我們的子女進行一種新式的教育。我們每人各自負(fù)責(zé)一門指定的課程。即便大家工作都很忙，并且孩子們的年齡大小不一，但是我們的熱情絲毫不減，對這項教育改革實驗保持著很濃的興趣。通過不多的課時，我們將理科課程和文科課程有機地結(jié)合起來，取得了很好的效果；并且所有理科課程都配有實驗，孩子們對此充滿了興趣。

This arrangement, which lasted two years, proved to be very beneficial for most of the children; it was certainly so for my elder daughter. Following this preparation, she was able to enter a higher class in one of the colleges of Paris, and had no difficulty in passing her bachelor's examination before the usual age, after which she continued her scientific studies in the Sorbonne. My second daughter, although not benefiting by a similar arrangement for her earlier studies, at first followed the classes of a college only partially, and later completely. She showed herself a good pupil, doing satisfactory work in all directions.

I wanted very much to assure for my children a rational physical education. Next to outdoor walks, I attach a great importance to gymnastics and sports. This side of a girl's education is still rather neglected in France. I took care that my children did gymnastics regularly. I was also careful to have them spend vacations either in the mountains or at the seashore. They can canoe and swim very well and are not afraid of a long walk or a bicycle ride.

But of course the care of my children's education was only a part of my duties, my professional occupations taking most of my time. I have been frequently questioned, especially by women, how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy; it required a great deal of decision and of selfsacrifice. However, the family bond has been preserved between me and my now grown-up daughters, and life is made brighter by the mutual affection and understanding in our home, where I could not suffer a harsh word or selfish behavior.

通過我們兩年的努力，大多數(shù)孩子都有所收獲，特別是我的艾萊娜。通過這種學(xué)習(xí)之后，她竟然能夠插入巴黎一所中學(xué)的高年級班，并且沒有遇到太大困難便通過了各門功課的考試，在比一般學(xué)生小的年紀(jì)便進入了巴黎大學(xué)，學(xué)習(xí)理科專業(yè)。小女兒艾娃沒有接受我們這種新模式的教育，但是后來也進了一所學(xué)院。一開始，她只是選修部分課程，后來才學(xué)習(xí)全部課程，她是一個好學(xué)生，在各方面的表現(xiàn)都不錯。

我對兩個孩子的體育鍛煉也很重視，除了戶外散步以外，我認(rèn)為體操和運動也很重要。在法國，對女孩子在這些方面的教育往往被忽視。我要求兩個女兒每天都要做柔軟體操，還經(jīng)常帶她們?nèi)ド嚼锘蛘吆＿叾燃?。她們兩個游泳和劃船的技術(shù)都是一流的，對遠(yuǎn)足或者騎車遠(yuǎn)游更是無所畏懼。

當(dāng)然，對女兒的教育只是我職責(zé)的一部分而已，我仍將大部分的時間用于科學(xué)研究。有些人，尤其是女人，經(jīng)常會問我是怎樣把這兩者處理得如此好的。是的，這并不是容易做到的事，它需要有堅忍不拔的精神，而且還要作出一定的犧牲。我和兩個已經(jīng)長大成人的女兒一直感情很好，相處愉快。在我們的家里，相互體諒和彼此尊重使我們的生活充滿了陽光，我們母女之間從來沒有說過一句傷人的話，也沒有做過一件自私自利的事。

In 1906, when I succeeded my husband at the Sorbonne, I had only a provisional laboratory with little space and most limited equipment. A few scientists and students had already been admitted to work there with my husband and me. With their help, I was able to continue the course of research with good success.

In 1907, I received a precious mark of sympathy from Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who donated to my laboratory an annual income for research fellowships which enabled some advanced students or scientists to devote their whole time to investigation. Such foundations are very encouraging to those whose inclinations and talents are such as to warrant their entire devotion to research work. They ought to be multiplied in the interest of science.

As for myself, I had to devote again a great deal of time to the preparation of several decigrammes of very pure radium chloride. With this I achieved, in 1907, a new determination of the atomic weight of radium, and in 1910 I was able to isolate the metal. The operation, an extremely delicate one, was performed with the assistance of a distinguished chemist belonging to the laboratory staff. It has never been repeated since that time, because it involves a serious danger of loss of radium, which can be avoided only with utmost care. So I saw at last the mysterious white metal, but could not keep it in this state, for it was required for further experiments.

As for the polonium, I have not been able to isolate it, its quantity in the mineral being even much less than the quantity of radium. However, very concentrated prolonium has been prepared in my laboratory, and important experiments have been performed with this substance, concerning especially the production of helium by radiation of polonium.

我在1906年，接替皮埃爾到巴黎大學(xué)任教的時候，只有一間設(shè)備短缺而又狹小的臨時實驗室可以用來工作。皮埃爾在世時，一些科學(xué)家和學(xué)生已經(jīng)在那里同他一起工作了，我接任后，在他們的鼎力相助下，得以繼續(xù)進行研究，并且獲得了滿意的成果。

1907年，我得到安德魯·卡內(nèi)基先生的同情和贊助，他贈給我的實驗室一筆獎學(xué)金，使一些成績卓著的科學(xué)家和學(xué)生能夠全身心致力于研究。這種幫助很有價值，使那些有志于科學(xué)研究且具備研究能力的研究者能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)自己的心愿，不至于中斷研究。為了科研事業(yè)，社會上的有識之士應(yīng)該盡可能多地設(shè)置這種獎學(xué)金。

當(dāng)時，我的奮斗目標(biāo)是盡自己所能將幾分克極其純凈的氯化鐳提煉出來。1907年，我完成了對鐳元素的新的原子量的測量，到1910年，我最終提煉出了純凈的金屬鐳。這一提煉和測定的過程很精密，需要特別地細(xì)心。我是在一位著名的化學(xué)家的鼎力相助之下，才獲得了成功的。在那之后，我沒有再次重復(fù)這一實驗，因為這一實驗過程有使鐳元素喪失的可能，除非極其小心極其謹(jǐn)慎地操作。這次成功終于使我見到了這一神奇而又美妙的白色金屬鐳。但是因為許多實驗在等著使用它，所以我不能將它一直在這種美妙的觀賞狀態(tài)下保存。

而我卻一直未能將釙元素提煉、分離出來。這是因為在原礦中它比鐳的含量還要少。不過，在我的實驗室里存有一些釙含量很豐富的物質(zhì)，我們能夠用它來做各種重要的實驗。在這之中，尤以釙放射時所產(chǎn)生的氦氣對實驗最為重要。

I had to devote special care to the improvement of the measuring methods in the laboratory. I have told how important precise measurements were in the discovery of radium. It is still to be hoped that efficient methods of quantitative determination may lead to new discoveries.

I devised a very satisfactory method for determining the quantity of radium by the means of a radioactive gas produced by it and called"emanation." This method, frequently used in my laboratory, permits of the measurement of very small quantities of radium (less than a thousandth of a milligramme), with a fair precision. More important quantities are often measured by their penetrating radiation, named Gamma-rays. For this we also possess in my laboratory a suitable equipment. It is easier and more satisfactory to measure the radium by the emitted rays, than to weigh it in a balance. However, these measurements require the disposition of reliable standards. So the question of a radium standard had to be taken into careful consideration.

The measurements of radium had to be established on a solid basis, for the benefit of laboratories and scientific research, which, of course, is in itself an important reason, and moreover, the growing medical utilization of this substance made it necessary to control the relative purity of commercially produced radium.

我還專門花費了一番心思對實驗室里的測量方法做了不錯的改造。我說過，精密的測量在鐳的發(fā)現(xiàn)過程中起了極其重要的作用。并且，我希望有效的含量測定方法能夠帶來新的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

我想出了一個很有效的方法，那就是用鐳產(chǎn)生的鐳射氣來對鐳的數(shù)量進行測量。通過多次在我的實驗室里使用這一方法，我準(zhǔn)確地測出了一毫克千分之一左右的鐳，這是極其微量的。那些數(shù)量較多的，我們就運用鐳射線中穿透力較強的γ射線進行測量。這樣的設(shè)備在我的實驗室中就有。利用射線測量鐳的數(shù)量的這種方法比用天平測量要更加快速、精確。但是，要想采用這種新的度量方法，必須先要有一個經(jīng)過縝密考慮并且確定后的新標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

要想對實驗與科學(xué)研究有所幫助，對鐳的測量方法就必須建立在可靠的基礎(chǔ)之上。除了其內(nèi)部的重要原因之外，還因為鐳在現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學(xué)中的應(yīng)用日漸增長，控制商業(yè)生產(chǎn)鐳的相對純度成為必須解決的大事。

The first experiments on the biological properties of radium were successfully made in France with samples from our laboratory, while my husband was living. The results were, at once, encouraging, so that the new branch of medical science, called radiumtherapy (in France, Curietherapy), developed rapidly, first in France and later in other countries. To supply the radium wanted for this purpose, a radiumproducing industry was established. The first plant was created in France and worked very successfully, but afterwards manufactures were founded in other countries, the most important of which are now in America, where great quantities of radiumore , named"carnotite," are available. The radiumtherapy and the radium production developed conjointly, and the results were more and more important, for the treatment of several diseases, and particularly of cancer. As a consequence of this, several institutes have been founded, in the large cities, for the application of the new therapy. Some of these institutes own several grammes of radium, the commercial price of the gramme being now about $70,000, the cost of production depending on the very small proportion of radium in the ore.

It may be easily understood how deeply I appreciated the privilege of realizing that our discovery had become a benefit to mankind, not only through its great scientific importance, but also by its power of efficient action against human suffering and terrible disease. This was indeed a splendid reward for our years of hard toil.

The success of the therapy depends, of course, on the precise knowledge of the quantity of radium which is used, so that the measurements of radium are as important for industry and for medicine as for physicochemical research.

在法國曾經(jīng)做過實驗，就鐳對生物所造成的各種影響進行了初步研究，并且取得了很好的效果。實驗中使用的樣本就是由我的實驗室所提供的。那個時候，皮埃爾還沒有離去，實驗的結(jié)果使大家興奮不已，并且因此，被法國人民稱為“居里療法”的鐳療法也作為一個嶄新的醫(yī)療分支在法國首先誕生了，隨后在其他國家也普遍地興盛起來。由于對于鐳的需求日漸增多，制鐳工業(yè)也就相應(yīng)地取得了發(fā)展。第一家工廠出現(xiàn)在法國，并且運營得很成功。隨后，其他國家的制鐳工廠也相繼建立了起來，目前，最大的一家在美國，這是因為美國具有富含鐳的釩鉀鈾礦，對鐳進行提煉相對來說比較容易。隨著制鐳工業(yè)取得發(fā)展，鐳治療技術(shù)也得到了相應(yīng)的提高。這一治療方法對于某些疾病來說具有特殊的療效，特別是在癌癥治療方面。出于這個原因，在很多大的城市里，一些專門憑借這種方法治病的醫(yī)院應(yīng)運而生，有的醫(yī)院里還存有數(shù)克的鐳。鐳的市場售價現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)達(dá)到每克七萬美元，這是因為鐳在原礦中的含量微乎其微，導(dǎo)致提煉的成本很高。

我們當(dāng)初沒有料到這一發(fā)現(xiàn)會對社會有如此大的用處，不僅是科學(xué)上的重大成就，而且能夠治療可怕的疾病，減輕人們的痛苦。讀者們肯定能夠體會到這時候我欣慰、激動的心情。這是對我同皮埃爾多年來辛苦拼搏的回報，這種回報是無可比擬的。

如果想令鐳治療取得成功，在用量上就必須保證準(zhǔn)確無誤。所以，不管是在工業(yè)上、醫(yī)藥上還是科研上，鐳的度量都是至關(guān)重要的。

Considering all these needs, a commission of scientific men of different countries was formed who agreed to take as a base an international standard, formed of a carefully weighed quantity of pure radium salt. Secondary standards were then to be prepared for each country, and compared to the basic standard by means of their radiation. I was appointed to prepare the primary standard.

This was a very delicate operation, as the weight of the standard sample, quite small (about 21 milligrammes of chloride), had to be determined with great precision. I performed the preparation in 1911. The standard is a thin glass tube, of a few centimeters in length, containing the pure salt which was used for the determination of atomic weight. It was accepted by the Commission and is deposited in the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sevres, near Paris. Several secondary standards, compared with the primary one, have been put into service by the Commission. In France the control of radium tubes, by the measurement of their radiation, takes place in my laboratory, where any one may bring the radium to be tested; in the United States this is done in the Bureau of Standards.

針對這種情況，由各國科學(xué)家所組成的委員會的全體成員，集體同意制定一個國際標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來共同遵循。這一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的制定方法是，先使用極其精確的方法對若干極純凈的鐳鹽進行測定，把它作為基本標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，然后再將若干純凈的鐳鹽的放射性同基本標(biāo)準(zhǔn)進行對比，作為副標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，以便各國進行使用。該委員會指命我來負(fù)責(zé)制定這個基本標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

這是一項極其精密細(xì)致的工作，絕對不允許有半點馬虎，因為氯化鐳大約只有二十一毫克，重量極輕，所以稱量時必須非常準(zhǔn)確。1911年，我將這個基本標(biāo)準(zhǔn)制作成功。這個基本標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是一個數(shù)厘米長的玻璃管，里面裝有曾經(jīng)測定過鐳原子量的純凈鐳鹽，通過委員會的批準(zhǔn)之后，它被存放在離巴黎不遠(yuǎn)的塞弗爾國際度量衡標(biāo)準(zhǔn)局。根據(jù)這個基本標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，委員會還制備了幾個副標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，已經(jīng)投入使用。在法國各地，全部存有鐳的玻璃管，都是由我的實驗室來完成鑒定的。鑒定的方法就是對它們的輻射強度進行測量。無論任何人，都可以帶上自己的鐳到我們這里測量、鑒定。在美國，這種事是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)局負(fù)責(zé)的。

Near the end of the year 1910, I was proposed for the decoration of the Legion of Honor. A similar proposal was made earlier in favor of my husband, who, however, being opposed to all honorary distinctions, did not accept the nomination. As my husband and I were too united in all things for me to act differently from him in this matter, I did not accept the decoration, in spite of the insistence of the Ministry. At that time also, several colleagues persuaded me to be a candidate for election to the Academy of Sciences, of Paris, of which my husband was a member during the last months of his life. I hesitated very much, as such a candidacy requires, by custom, a great number of personal visits to Academy members. However, I consented to offer myself a candidate, because of the advantages an election would have for my laboratory. My candidacy provoked a vivid public interest, especially because it involved the question of the admission of women to the Academy. Many of the Academicians were opposed to this in principle, and when the scrutiny was made, I had a few votes less than was necessary. I do not ever wish to renew my candidacy, because of my strong distaste for the personal solicitation required. I believe that all such elections should be based wholly on a spontaneous decision, without any personal efforts involved, as was the case for several Academies and Societies which made me a member without any demand or initiative on my part.

到了1910年，我獲得法國榮譽騎士勛章提名。以前皮埃爾也受到過同樣的提名，但是他反對接受一切榮譽，就沒有接受。我的行為準(zhǔn)則和皮埃爾的全部一致，因此就這件事而言我也不想使皮埃爾的意愿受到違背，雖然內(nèi)政部多次對我進行勸誡，但我仍然拒不接受這一授勛。與此同時，很多同事勸說我就成為巴黎科學(xué)院院士進行申請，皮埃爾在去世前的幾個月被選為院士，所以我對要不要申請成為院士，頗為猶豫，難作決定。按照科學(xué)院的規(guī)定，如果想要申請成為院士，就必須要挨個地拜訪巴黎的所有院士，這令我感到很不情愿；但如果能夠被成功地選為院士，我的實驗室就能夠從中獲益。這么一想，我就下定決心參加院士的競選。社會公眾對我的競選給予了熱切關(guān)注，就科學(xué)院是否應(yīng)該對女院士進行接納這一議題，大家展開了激烈的辯論，一些老院士堅決反對接納女性。到最后，投票結(jié)束后顯示，我以數(shù)票之差落選。在這之后，我就再也不去申請了，因為挨個地求人幫忙是最令我厭惡和頭疼的。我想，這種選舉應(yīng)該以申請人的業(yè)績?yōu)闃?biāo)準(zhǔn)進行衡量，而不應(yīng)該自己奔走，私下交易。例如一些協(xié)會和學(xué)會，在我自己并沒有提出任何申請的情況下，就主動將我吸納為會員了。

As a result of all the cares devolving on me, I fell seriously ill at the end of 1911, when, for the second time, I received, this time alone, the award of the Nobel prize. This was a very exceptional honor, a high recognition of the discovery of the new elements and of the preparation of pure radium. Suffering though I was, I went to Stockholm to receive the prize. The journey was extremely painful for me. I was accompanied by my eldest sister and my young daughter Irene. The ceremony of delivery of the Nobel prizes is very impressive, having the features of a national solemnity. A most generous reception was accorded me, specially by the women of Sweden. This was a great comfort to me, but I was suffering so much that when I returned I had to stay in bed for several months. This grave illness, as well as the necessities of my children's education, obliged me to move my home from Sceaux to Paris.

During the year 1912 I had the opportunity of collaborating in the creation of a laboratory of radium at Warsaw. This laboratory was founded by the Scientific Society of Warsaw which offered me its direction. I could not leave France to go back to my native country, but I willingly agreed to occupy myself with the organization of the studies in the new laboratory. In 1913, having improved my health, I was able to attend an inauguration fête in Warsaw, where a touching reception was given, leaving me an unforgettable memory of national sentiment which succeeded in creating useful work under particularly difficult political conditions.

1911年年底，種種費心勞神的事情匯集到一起，使我心力交瘁，終于病倒了，并且病得很重。但就是這個時候，諾貝爾獎再一次降臨到了我的頭上，并且是單獨授予我一個人的。對于我而言，這確實是一個極大的殊榮，特別是對我發(fā)現(xiàn)元素和提煉出鐳的極大褒獎。當(dāng)時，我雖然病著，但仍舊決定親自到斯德哥爾摩去領(lǐng)獎。我的大姐和大女兒艾萊娜陪同我前往。頒獎儀式十分隆重，同接待國家元首的氣派不相上下，令我激動不已。在斯德哥爾摩我受到了熱烈的歡迎，特別是瑞典婦女界，她們的熱情更是令人感動。由于大病未愈，加上來去的旅途勞頓，待回到法國的時候，我竟一連臥床數(shù)月。因為病情嚴(yán)重，并且考慮到兩個女兒的教育問題，我們不得不從蘇城搬到巴黎市內(nèi)定居了。

1912年，我同幾個人合作，在華沙建立了一個鐳實驗室。這個實驗室下屬于華沙科學(xué)院，我被聘為主任，參與對其的指導(dǎo)。當(dāng)時，我身體狀況不好，沒有離開法國返回波蘭，但我非常愿意竭盡自己所能對該實驗室的研究工作進行指導(dǎo)。到了1913年，當(dāng)我的身體狀況略有好轉(zhuǎn)之后，我便立即返回波蘭參加這個實驗室成立的紀(jì)念典禮。祖國人民對我的熱烈歡迎使我激動不已。我深刻地體會到，波蘭人民在那么艱難的政治條件下還能以如此高昂的愛國主義熱情，開創(chuàng)有利于祖國建設(shè)的事業(yè)，真的是很了不起。祖國人民的這種偉大精神令我永遠(yuǎn)難忘。

While still only partially recovered from my illness, I renewed my efforts for the construction of a suitable laboratory in Paris. Finally it was arranged for, and work began in 1912. The Pasteur Institute wished to be associated with this laboratory, and, in accord with the University, it was decided to create an Institute of Radium, with two laboratories, one of physics and one of biology, the first to be devoted to studies of the physical and chemical properties of the radioactive elements, the second to the study of their biological and medical applications. But, because of the lack of financial means, the construction work proceeded very slowly, and was not yet entirely finished when the war broke out in 1914.

當(dāng)我的疾病只是部分好轉(zhuǎn)時，我就忍不住四處奔走，努力想在巴黎籌建一個更加合適的實驗室了。通過我的一系列努力，最后終于見出了成果，我理想中的實驗室在1912年破土動工了。巴斯德研究院愿意同新創(chuàng)建的實驗室進行合作，經(jīng)巴黎大學(xué)同意，新成立了一個鐳研究所，其中包括兩個實驗室，一個物理實驗室，專門對放射性元素的物理和化學(xué)特性進行研究；另一個生物實驗室，專門對放射性在生物與醫(yī)學(xué)上的應(yīng)用進行研究。但是，由于經(jīng)費不足，工程進行得很慢，1914年，世界大戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)時，實驗室還沒有竣工。