Question

Radioactivity was discovered by
1. Madam Curie
2. Pierre Curie
3. Henri Becquerel
4. Rutherford

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Henri Becquerel

The correct answer is Henri Becquerel.

• Radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel in 1896.
• SI unit of radioactivity is becquerel (Bq). 
• Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity proving that the uranium emitted radiation without an external source of energy such as the Sun.
• Marie Curie, who together with her husband Pierre Curie, actually coined the term radioactivity and began investigating the phenomenon recently discovered by Becquerel.
• In 1903, Henry Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie.

• Radioactivity: The Phenomenon of spontaneous emission of radiation from radioactive substances is called radioactivity.
  • It is actually a property of atoms and Nuclei. Therefore on the nano-level also it is not affected by chemical or physical changes.
  • Radioactivity, basically, is a nuclear phenomenon in which an unstable nucleus undergoes a decay is called radioactive decay.
  • Three types of Radioactive decay:
    • α decay in which Helium nucleus He24 is emitted.
    • β decay in which electron or positron are emitted.
    • γ decay in which high-energy photons are emitted.
• Ernest Rutherford did many experiments studying the properties of radioactive decay, named this alpha, beta, and gamma particles, and classified them by their ability to penetrate matter.