Antoine Henri Becquerel (2024)

Becquerel's most famous achievement was an accidental discovery involving uranium salts.

: In 1901, after being accidentally burned by a vial of radium in his pocket, he realized that radioactivity could affect living tissue. This led to the birth of radiotherapy for treating cancer. Awards and Legacy Henri Becquerel – Facts - NobelPrize.org antoine henri becquerel

Beyond the initial discovery, Becquerel’s research advanced the field in several ways: Awards and Legacy Henri Becquerel – Facts - NobelPrize

Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852–1908) was a Nobel Prize-winning French physicist renowned for his discovery of . His work laid the foundational stone for nuclear physics and changed our understanding of the atomic structure. The Discovery of Radioactivity (1896) : Days later, he developed the plate and

: Inspired by the discovery of X-rays, Becquerel wanted to see if phosphorescent materials emitted X-rays after being exposed to sunlight.

: Days later, he developed the plate and found a clear, dark image of the crystals—meaning they were emitting "penetrating rays" spontaneously, without any external energy source like the sun.

: On a cloudy day in Paris, he placed uranium crystals on a photographic plate wrapped in black paper and tucked them in a dark drawer.