André-Louis Debierne
Encyclopedia
André-Louis Debierne was a French
chemist
and is considered the discoverer of the element actinium
.
Debierne studied at the elite École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris
(ESPCI ParisTech). He was a student of Charles Friedel
, was a close friend of Pierre
and Marie Curie and was associated with their work. In 1899, he discovered the radioactive element actinium
, as a result of continuing the work with pitchblende
that the Curies had initiated.
After the death of Pierre Curie in 1906, Debierne helped Marie Curie carry on and worked with her in teaching and research.
In 1910, he and Marie Curie prepared radium in metallic form in visible amounts. They did not keep it metallic, however. Having demonstrated the metal's existence as a matter of scientific curiosity, they reconverted it into compounds with which they might continue their researches.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and is considered the discoverer of the element actinium
Actinium
Actinium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Ac and atomic number 89, which was discovered in 1899. It was the first non-primordial radioactive element to be isolated. Polonium, radium and radon were observed before actinium, but they were not isolated until 1902...
.
Debierne studied at the elite École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris
École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris
The école supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris or ESPCI ParisTech is a chemistry and physics engineering college run by the city of Paris, France and a member of ParisTech...
(ESPCI ParisTech). He was a student of Charles Friedel
Charles Friedel
Charles Friedel was a French chemist and mineralogist. A native of Strasbourg, France, he was a student of Louis Pasteur at the Sorbonne...
, was a close friend of Pierre
Pierre Curie
Pierre Curie was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity, and Nobel laureate. He was the son of Dr. Eugène Curie and Sophie-Claire Depouilly Curie ...
and Marie Curie and was associated with their work. In 1899, he discovered the radioactive element actinium
Actinium
Actinium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Ac and atomic number 89, which was discovered in 1899. It was the first non-primordial radioactive element to be isolated. Polonium, radium and radon were observed before actinium, but they were not isolated until 1902...
, as a result of continuing the work with pitchblende
Uraninite
Uraninite is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2, but also contains UO3 and oxides of lead, thorium, and rare earth elements...
that the Curies had initiated.
After the death of Pierre Curie in 1906, Debierne helped Marie Curie carry on and worked with her in teaching and research.
In 1910, he and Marie Curie prepared radium in metallic form in visible amounts. They did not keep it metallic, however. Having demonstrated the metal's existence as a matter of scientific curiosity, they reconverted it into compounds with which they might continue their researches.