#i know we talk about marie curie in nuclear physics

[elf-4-hire]

Going to uni and doing physics (specifically astronomy) means that you find out there are at LOT more women in STEM than highschool made you think.

[angel-bazethiel]

What, How, Why is Flame Alchemy?

--or how Roy Mustang can potentially bottle up a star. --or I’m sleep-deprived and writing this fic that relies on a deeper understanding of how Flame Alchemy works and I’m posting what I thought of bc why the hell not? and if I read another post saying it’s plain ole combustion and how easy it is, I will probably lose my mind --or goddammit, where is Flame Alchemy?????

Content:

I. Introduction II. Mass-Energy Equivalence and Nuclear Energy III. Flame Alchemy? More like Nuclear Alchemy (and Other Myth Debunking) IV. Why would someone study such a research topic? V. Summary

Note: Long post and a lot of Science ahead.

I. Introduction

First we establish that whatever we know of Flame Alchemy is utterly bogus. Solely because of the fact that if Roy and Riza really wanted for the knowledge of it to die, no one will ever know of it. No one. So that explanation by Havoc about aligning oxygen molecules and then snapping to ignite them is not true. I mean, “reactive cloth?” What is that even made of? For a show that was extensively researched, that seems a bit lazy.

Also, this explanation makes Flame Alchemy sound so easy. So why isn’t everyone doing it? For a military-run country, one would think that something easy and can be weaponized would be mass-produced, right?

Another fact, fire feeds on oxygen, yes. But fire is a combustion reaction of oxygen and a C-H compound. Something I hope that the air in a 1900s FMA-Earth isn’t abundant of.

Although, I haven’t thought about what if the fuel Roy uses is H2 compounds instead of Hydrocarbons. That would be funny. Roy deconstructs H2O molecules only to create them again. But if you still want to see whether or not I’m crazy, by all means, do read on. I will still use Flame Alchemy = Nuclear Fusion for my fic. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now, it got me thinking how does Flame Alchemy actually work? And my highly convoluted train of thought started while I was writing this fic where I based Riza’s mother on Marie Curie. (Which I may expand on but now is not the time.)

I thought then, so how about Berthold? Is he Pierre? Naw, man. Who else has had his research mishandled during a war? Who else was a brilliant thinker but is also such a shitty dude to the women in his life? Yeah you guessed it. And what is one of his greatest works?

II. Mass-Energy Equivalence and Nuclear Energy

Albert Einstein’s Mass-Energy Equivalence is such a simple and very elegant equation saying that mass is interchangeable with energy. This postulate led to this branch of physics (or chemistry, whatever) called Nuclear Physics/Chemistry. Bear with me.

Did you know that when you add up the masses of an atom’s nucleons (the collective protons and neutrons) the actual mass is not equal to the calculated? Where did that mass go? As it turns out, that mass defect takes in the form of energy that holds the nucleons together. And when we substitute that missing mass on Eq. 1, we have a specific number for that binding energy.

So what do we mean by nuclear energy?

Nuclear energy is the binding energy released when a nucleon is taken out of its nucleus. And that can happen by either of two reactions: nuclear fission or nuclear fusion.

Now I didn’t think much about nuclear fission because that’s shit’s nasty. And I’m sure that Roy doesn’t have Uranium just lying about. So let’s talk about nuclear fusion. Specifically, the fusion of Hydrogen atoms:

When you fuse two Hydrogen-1 atoms it has three products: deuterium, a positron, and energy. Fuse that deuterium with another Hydrogen-1, we get Helium-3 and energy in the form of gamma radiation. Fuse two Helium-3 atoms, we get helium-4 and hydrogen and more energy. Then start the process again if you want more more energy.

So what has that got to do with Flame Alchemy?

III. Flame Alchemy? More like Nuclear Alchemy (and Other Myth Debunking)

I firmly believe that the “Flame Alchemy” we see in FMA is just the H-H fusion reaction (Eq. 2).

And like an idiot, I only did my research after I thought of all that shit and found this interpretation of Riza’s tattoo.

I don’t know how how much of the tattoo is canon, I tried looking for it in the manga and the anime is too small to see. But I see it everywhere so-- it must be canon?

But in that post, in the upper left part of Riza’s tattoo, we see the fusion reaction of deuterium. And of deuterium and tritium. To which I say, why? Those Hydrogen isotopes are rare. I mean, fine, a D-T fusion reaction gives 40 times the net energy from an H-H fusion reaction.

And, sure, Roy can create deuterium and tritium himself, but it’s just not efficient. I don’t know how alchemy works but I do know that to do that (by which I mean an H-H fusion, then a D-D fusion, then a D-T fusion) would require more energy than just stopping at the H-H fusion.

So I stand by my statement that the “Flame Alchemy” we see in FMA is just the first part of the H-H reaction (Eq. 2).

a. So how does it work as seen in the manga?

Roy would line up the atoms to where he wants the reaction to happen. And here’s the kicker, he can use other light atoms just no heavier than Iron-56.

But I think he uses Hydrogen-1 because that shit is everywhere. Again, not the heavier isotopes. So we’re sticking to that.

How do we know that that’s what’s happening and not Roy doing whatever the hell Havoc said? Because we see this:

I don’t know about you, but I think the sparks we see when someone is doing a transmutation aren’t just there because it’s cool.  

Atoms require energy in order to stay bonded as a molecule. So when alchemists transmute, they break the bonds and release that energy. In this case, the energy released is in the form of light. (I also have some thoughts about why we see red and blue sparks but, again, now is not the time.)

If Roy is just controlling the O2 molecules in the air, we shouldn’t see any sparks because there is no deconstructing happening.

Hydrogen-1 is usually present as part of the many water molecules in the air. So, I think, what we see is Roy deconstructing the H2O molecules and pulling the Hydrogen-1 atoms to where he wants them to be. The Oxygen-16 atoms bond with each other and form O2 molecules but we don’t care about them.

Unless Roy fuses Oxygen-16 instead of Hydrogen-1. In that case, we will see an even bigger release of energy. OH! Maybe that’s why he uses his left hand for smaller and more controlled explosions and the other for bigger ones. Because the gloves are different! One is for H-H fusion and the other is for O-O fusion.

Anyways. Hydrogen-1 atoms, by themselves are positively charged. So to fuse two together we have to overcome the repelling force by those same-charged atoms. To do that, they must meet either at high velocity or at high pressure. In the manga, they do the former.

Remember the sound whenever Roy does his thing? That isn’t actually caused by his snapping. After all he is wearing gloves. The sound when you snap is made by the pad of your middle finger striking your palm. If your hand is clothed, you won’t produce any sound when you snap.

No. That sound is the sonic boom of Hydrogen atoms going faster than the speed of sound. Also, I don’t think his gloves is made up of some special material. He just snaps to cover up the sound. Everything is just nuclear fusion.

b. How about those “flames” that we see, then?

That is how we perceive the energy released by the reaction. When the energy is transferred into the surroundings, it gives off heat. Not only that, but the other atoms in the air get excited (this is a technical term btw) and glow. For all intents and purposes, I guess they are flames? Just not caused by a combustion reaction.

c. But if that’s how the Flame Alchemy works, then what is up with the useless when wet schtick?

That is a misconception. Sort of.

Roy’s alchemy will still be useless in the rain because there is just too much macromolecules in the air. He can’t align the atoms properly and the Hydrogen atoms may collide with the water molecules. That would decrease speed which he maybe can take account of. But the time to calculate then recalculate for each atoms can be too long. So he just lets Riza take care of the imminent threat when it’s raining.

As for when it isn’t raining, but he’s wet… I think he can still do his Alchemy, he just doesn’t. Because in doing so, it would deconstruct all the lies Roy and Riza have built around “Flame Alchemy.” Like that fight with Lust with Havoc. He manipulated Hydrogen atoms and I think he could have just fused them. Instead he let Havoc throw his lighter. Good thing Hydrogen is flammable. And this:

This is just Roy Mustang being the drama queen that he is.

d. Why would Roy and Riza lie about the Alchemy?

They feed false information surrounding Nuclear Alchemy because there can never be another Nuclear Alchemist. They created a version of the Alchemy and make up some magic cloth that supposedly becomes useless when wet. All of that so that no one can learn the actual secret. Maybe even discourage other alchemists, seeing as “it has such a huge weakness.”

IV. But why would someone want to study such a research topic?

Now, I don’t claim to know how Berthold Hawkeye’s brain works. But have you ever looked up to the sun and think, “Woah. That big ball gives life on this piece of rock? How does that even work?” I hope you haven’t because you will hurt your eyes. Please use protective eye-gear if you’re going to look directly to the sun.

All joking aside. It all comes down to energy. The sources of energy we have today have their pros and cons. Our main source, which is burning fossil fuels, is very much harming the environment.

So we look up. The sun has millions of Hydrogen atoms that undergo nuclear fusion. And the energy from that keeps all of us 7 billion little shits alive. What if we bottle up a star?

If we could ever recreate even the smallest fraction of that reaction, we can power hundreds of cities. And with Helium to spare, which we can use to blow out the balloons for our party in celebration of the fact we can finally stop killing our planet.

If nuclear fusion is so clean, then why aren’t we using it?

Because we still don’t know how to contain and control it. Today, there are two designs of fusion reactors and there are research facilities that conduct experiments. But so far they are still developing the technology.

And get this, this is a very hard and expensive thing to do. Whatever Berthold did, it’s genius. Way ahead of his time. He’s still an ass of a father though.

To add salt to the wound, like with what happened to Flame Alchemy in FMA, governments have used this research to create weapons instead. Because why try to contain that energy and use it for technological advancement when we can let it loose on a city, right? Hah. We are such dumbfucks.

V. Summary

So in conclusion, human beings suck. Kidding! Well, not really. But yeah. So. Flame Alchemy is a nuclear fusion reaction of Hydrogen-1 atoms. And it’s very hard to control and contain that even in 2020 Primary-Earth, we haven’t figured that shit out.

It could have been used for the people if the Amestrian government actually cared about the people. And after the trauma Roy and Riza experienced in Ishval, we may only see Nuclear Alchemy in the distant future when humans are kinder – not just to the world they live in – but to other humans they are living with as well.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[amelanda]

as we all know from this wonderful post, peter is very excited about meeting bruce banner. one day he comes up with idea that it would be cool for bruce to go to his school since the physics teacher is basically in love with him and that’s why every student knows what an amazing scientist bruce is. bruce was cautios at first, but then after talking about it with thor, he realises that it’s actually a good idea. why not? why not to make a lesson on new scientific projects of other scientists? especially since thor agreed to go with him because being in a crowd is tiring and he needs emotional support. so here are some headcanons about the day when bruce banner went to peter’s school and everybody just lost it

‘dr. banner???? i wrote an essay on your study last year! got a C but still!!’

‘dr. banner, wow, to be honest i’m not really into science but it’s cool to see someone whose portrait is on our classroom!’

‘YOU’RE DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER BORN ON DECEMBER 18 1969 YOU HAVE 7 PHDS THE FIRST ONE IS IN PHYSICS THE SECOND - OH SORRY I’M SO AWKWARD YOU KNOW YOUR PHDS CAN I TAKE A SELFIE WITH YOU?’

students are also super excited to meet thor (thor and bruce are a couple and everybody knows that) and he takes selfies with them too but he does everything to show students that he is here only because bruce is here for the lesson and he does everything he can to make students pay attention to bruce only

peter and ned cannot handle their excitement, they want to go to bruce and talk to him and hug him but they know they can’t tell anybody it was them who invited bruce. only their teacher knows it.

the teacher, who deserves a credit for that bruce banner obsession going on in this school, is so excited there are no words for it. she forgot how to speak in front of him, because that is her scientific idol right there and although she has her speech prepared, she’s just excited as a fan. ‘i can’t believe i’m seeing you right now! your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled and i have so many questions!’.

bruce is... undecided what to feel about that much of attention because he never recieved one. there were scientific conferences and everything, but nobody treated him like an idol. everybody only cared about the hulk, but right now everybody cares about his scientific projects only and that’s unusual. 

btw, the teacher also deserves a credit for making sure nobody would bring the hulk into the conversations with bruce. everybody knows now that bruce banner and hulk are okay and they are not enemies anymore, but still, bruce is here as a scientist so please respect that. 

when bruce finally sees his portrait on that wall he’s speechless. thor thinks he might cry right now. he doesn’t really know all the scientists on the wall, but he understands the meaning behind it, on asgard they too had pictures in schools of the most significant science\history\culture personalities.

peter and ned, who are in the class already (of course they are), are the only one besides thor and the teacher to witness bruce’s reaction to this portrait. ned whispers to peter ‘that’s the coolest thing i have ever seen. it’s like we see einstein recognising that he is a part of a history now’, peter agrees ‘yeah. and that’s bruce banner. we are the luckiest’

the ring bells and everybody is in classroom. thor and the teacher are in the back row. everybody’s looking at bruce with wide eyes

‘hello everybody! i am bruce banner, maybe you have heard about me, if you haven’t, that’s alright. i am a - a scientist. i specialize in nuclear physics, particle physics, health physics, biochemistry, mechanical engineering, material sciences, medicine’. bruce didn’t felt quite good telling that because it looked like bragging, but after he told that students all went ‘wow...’. bruce continued ‘before we start, maybe some of you have questions? that would be easier for everybody’

bruce planned that he would tell students about current situation in science, like new projects, new scientists, new discoveries, because he doesn’t really like praising himself in front of people, but since he proposed to ask him questions, everybody was raising their hands. and so the lesson transformed into a q&a session.

‘i mean i am amazed that you have 7 phds, but how did you decide that you need 7 phds?’

‘why don’t you have a nobel prize?’

‘what are you working on right now?’

‘can you create a time machine?’

‘how all of that information is in your brain?’

‘who is your favourite scientist in real life and in movies\books?’ 

‘do you sleep at all?’ thor answers that for bruce by shouting ‘NO’

and so many more

finally, peter asks ‘what does it feel like to be alongside marie sklodowska curie and einstein?’ and when he sees the confused look he explains ‘i mean, your picture is next to them, that means something, right? like you are their colleague and successor’. bruce open his mouth but the bell rings. the students have never been more upset about the end of the lesson

when everyone is out of classroom, peter goes to bruce and says ‘mr. banner, thank you so so so much for this lesson today, it’s so cool that now everybody truly knows how great of a scientist and a person you are’. bruce smiles softly and says ‘peter, i should thank you. i am… truly flattered’. peter goes to the door, but turns when he hears bruce’s voice ‘and peter? call me bruce’. peter’s eyes gone wild, he opens his mouth in schock and he says ‘o-o-okay, m-m-mr. banner. oh, bruce. yeah, bruce’. bruce nods and the next thing he hears is peter shouting ‘ned!! ned!’. 

the teacher suggests that if bruce is tired (he is tired as hell) then he can stay in the classroom with thor since it’s a break in classes and no one will go there. and she has to go on little teacher council. bruce left his number so she can call him when she’s free and tell him when she can get a drink with him and discuss everything she wants.

when they’re finally alone, bruce sighs in relief. that was great, but it was so tiring. he’s not used to that. 

thor comforts him and asks if he’s okay and bruce knows that he’s okay, he’s actually great since everybody appreciate his works, but it just feels weird.  ‘i - i just.. i can’t believe that i’m on the wall alongside marie sklodowska curie, einstein, nicola tesla, lise meither… they are such big figures in science and that’s to say the least of it, they are… i mean that’s a great condifence boost but - ’

thor says to him that he deserves to be among those figures because he’s the most renowned scientist of the generation and his ideas actually help people

when they are on their way home, bruce says that one of the reasons he feels such happiness right now is because when he was talking to students he felt like a part of scientific community again. with the hulk and everything else, he had to stay away from big projects which include many people because he was always afraid of hulking out. and he misses those days when he could go to conferences and talk to scientists and be a part of the big team. 

thor asks him if he wants to do all of this again and bruce is not sure but he says ‘maybe’

but even this ‘maybe’ is enough for him to be happy because he never even dreamed about going back to scientific community. after the incident he was always alone, then there was tony and shuri with him, but that’s all. and he wants to do big projects

when they’re home, bruce is silent. thor doensn’t bother him, it was a really busy day for bruce. when they’re having dinner, bruce finally speaks up ‘you know, i think i now understand what i feel. i feel appreciated. i have finally saw the impact of my works in person, it’s not just number and results, i just saw how actual people react to me, students! and that’s - that’s just makes me so happy. and it brings so much more sense to what i’m doing. i still have to process lots of things, but right now i just feel happiness’

since then bruce can sometimes show up in peter’s school to conduct a lesson or two. real lessons, not interviews. and he loves it. 

he loves peter and ned very much and always helps them in their projects. peter and ned are allowed to go to his lab and ohmygod they can’t believe it. ned can call bruce by his name too.

thor loves peter and ned very much too, they are friends

everything is just amazing. thor has only one thing to complain about - since that day, it is even harder to make bruce go to bed

but everything else is just perfect

[beckystead01]

I can add so many women to the list, they're my most recent icons at the forefront of my mind. A beautiful nerdy example: In high school I looked up to Marie Curie, she litterly died because of her own discovery while her husband got run over by a horse. Yet guess who had the chance to vote?

This woman discovered something that lead to the creation of nuclear power plants. Yet she never had a chance to vote.

Born in 1867 died in 1934. Awarded the Nobel prize in physics (1903) AND chemistry (1911), yet how much were we taught about her in school? I for one watched documentaries on YouTube about her. Catherine the great, absolutely fascinating to learn about. Same with queen Liz the first. Cleopatra was a badass, and yet all history remembers her as is "sexy". Yes that's an over generalisation but you get the point. For example the first thing you think about when you hear "Emily Pankhurst" is "she chained herself to gates", not many people know she was thrown in prison and went on a hunger strike. She was arrested 7 times before women got to vote. You don't hear about how the party was heckled by men and they merely reated to the abuse thrown at them, you dont see articles about how their windows were smashed in by men trying to deter the suffragettes or how the women were brutally force fed while they were incarcerated for petty crimes.

I highly recomend everyone looks up and learns more about the suffragets and the ordeals they faced. Theres a lot to be learnt on all sides.

It's barely been 100 years since we've first been allowed to vote. How does that make you feel? (I'm genuinely interested in your stories and opinions so drop me a line, anything to get the world talking about voting. If the subject of women voting arises, it will get women and men talking. Also if you can't vote due to Illness ect dont feel bad it's not your fault but please make sure those who can do. Ans stand up for those who can't. This has been a late night Becky ramble, peace out my dudes)

Get your votes out for the gals

Theres a general election comming up in the uk and my stressed out roller coaster of a brain started thinking and suddenly realised that we've had cars longer than women have been allowed to vote. How fucked up is that?

First car was invented by Karl Benz in 1885.

UK: White women OVER 30 allowed to vote 1918+ providing they met certain criteria, this was changed in 1928 to match the voting rights of men.

US: White women allowed to vote 1920+

What's worse is when you realise racial minorities had to wait even longer for their right to vote.

Waiting to have a say, a chance to break free and speak for themselves about the oppression they faced. To have a chance to make a change for their children. What's even worse is that this is still a very new right for us, Saudi Arabia only legalised women voting in 2015. That's 4 years ago, for context flappy birds was released in may 2013.

Moral of this late night epiphany (very sorry if the dates/facts are a little off everything is blury!), if you have time to drive you have time to vote. If you played flappy birds in 2013 please vote. Do it for your great grandmothers who wanted to make a change, they would be so proud of you.

We've had cars longer than women have had the right to vote. That's so fucked up. Male or female, don't throw away your shot to make this world a better place.

[aion-rsa]

Marjane Satrapi on Madame Curie: ‘Don’t Blame the Scientist’ for the Discovery

https://ift.tt/2OP56Px

Madame Curie was part of Marjane Satrapi’s life well before Radioactive came along. In fact, she cannot remember a time when she didn’t know of Marie Curie, the Polish-French scientist who discovered two new elements on the periodic table, became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, and coined the term “radioactivity” for the type of energy she hypothesized was emanating from the atom. It’s that kind of legacy Satrapi’s mother made sure her daughter was aware of while growing up in 1970s Tehran—a role model who, despite the disadvantages of living in the 19th century, could change the world by being “an independent woman and big and bad.”

Yet by making a biopic on Curie’s life, which becomes available on VOD later this week, Satrapi learned there was so much more to appreciate about the historic figure, including the parallels she saw with another woman who left her homeland to make a new life in Paris.

“We both came to France in our early 20s because we were not able to do what we wanted to do in our home countries,” Satrapi says about the echoes between her and Curie’s life. Indeed, Radioactive begins shortly after its protagonist immigrated to France in 1891, which makes for a kind of thematic continuation of Satrapi’s first film, the seminal animated movie Persepolis (2007), which acted as her autobiography about coming of age during the Iranian Revolution, and then being asked to leave for good by her parents after she was an adult.

“It’s not that they are waiting for [you],” Satrapi tells me about moving alone to a new country. “People have their life and they have their friends and family, and here you come. First of all, you have to make yourself [stand out]; you don’t have any connection, you don’t know anyone, so it’s more difficult for you. But then if you are a woman and you want to study science at the end of the 19th century? Then everything becomes more complicated. So I can understand this complication and how difficult it is to still be yourself… You have to fight because nobody is going to tell you, ‘Oh, you can stay. This is your place. Come and take it.’”

But taking it is what Radioactive details in a both straightforward and enigmatic manner. On the one hand, it is a biographical film about how a woman named Maria Salomea Sklodwska (Rosamund Pike) came to meet and marry fellow scientist Pierre Curie (Sam Riley), who by benefit of his gender could earn a doctorate in physics, and how he then helped advance her genius toward discovery—all while the study of radiation likely led to Pierre’s early death. At the same time, it’s interspersed with narrative interludes pointing toward the impact radiation had on the century to come.

This emphasis on the history of science and mathematics was part of the appeal for Satrapi, who pursued the project as soon as she heard Jack Thorne had written a screenplay about the Curies. For while Satrapi is quick to point out that she is personally not a genius, and Marie Curie was, the filmmaker still has always found the study of science and math to be a vital part of the human condition, even for an artist. Calling “bullshit” on those who undervalue science or think its emphasis on empirical fact-finding is separate from the creative side of the brain, the filmmaker considers curiosity central to creation and living.

“There is nothing more human than science,” Satrapi says. “How does the real world work? If we stop making discovery, if we stop being curious, then we will surely become big monkeys again.”

And the long-term effects of curiosity prove vital to Radioactive. Like the Lauren Redniss graphic novel it is based on, Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout, the film is as interested in documenting the century-long journey of their life’s work as it is concerned with detailing simply their lives. Hence sections of the film that flash forward to the positive benefits of the discovery of radiation, such as how it’s used by radiologists to treat cancer, as well as sequences that recreate the day the Enola Gay flew over Hiroshima or when the Chernobyl power plant began melting down in 1986.

“You cannot talk about radioactivity and not talk about all of that,” Satrapi reflects. “Is that part of what Madame Curie created? Obviously not… [But] all of that is the result. You cannot actually talk about the couple who made the discovery, and how it is used to cure cancer, and then not talk about anything else, because of course they’re related, and this is the discovery that changed, completely, the face of the 20th century.”

To Satrapi it would be intellectually dishonest to show only the benefits caused by radiation in Curie’s lifetime—including during the third act when she invents with her daughter (Anya Taylor-Joy) mobilized radiology vehicles to perform X-rays at field hospitals during the First World War—but then ignore the atom bomb that came later. After all, this isn’t a simple discovery.

Says Satrapi, “If you discovered today a little type of blue octopus that lives in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, okay it’s a discovery, but would it change the world? No.” The Curies did. With that said, the filmmaker does not blame the Curies for what came after. Her movie is about finding what she calls an equilibrium toward their legacy.

“Frankly, I think the scientist does not have any responsibility,” Satrapi says. “The scientist has to discover. That is his job, to be curious and to discover. Now, if it were this way [suggested by critics], we can also say the first man who made the fire is responsible for all of the war in the world. Yeah, but he’s also responsible for the cooking of food and agriculture.”

Thus the parallels Satrapi sees between the Curies’ discovery with the current debate over the advancement of artificial intelligence.

“There’s some people that are against, some people that are for,” Satrapi considers. “Of course if you use it to make a very good heart surgery that no human’s hands can do without any risk, it’s fantastic. But if you use it to recognize the face of, I don’t know, some people somewhere in the world, and kill them without touching them, and call that declaring war, then it’s something disgusting. It’s the same thing. How do you use it? … It’s up to us, the human, to decide what we want to do with the discovery. I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the scientist. The scientist just discovers it.”

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That sense of trying to find meaning in discovery, and life in general, is at the core of how Radioactive presents the Curies. Here were two people ahead of their time in countless ways, including with Pierre insisting that he’d only accept a Nobel Prize if his wife was also given credit for it (the Nobel Assembly initially refused to include Marie’s name on its award), yet they’re also products of it. Indeed, one of the most interesting aspects of the pair presented in the movie is their fascination with spiritualism. While Pierre is the much more active participant in 19th century séances, if only to attempt to locate a scientific pathway into the paranormal, Marie also turned to mediums after her husband’s death.

“The Curies, they were part of a [spiritualism] movement,” Satrapi says. “They asked, ‘So okay, maybe we don’t understand this, maybe we can be scientific and maybe we can explain it, and maybe something exists.’ And ‘maybe’ is the base of doubt, and doubt is the base of progress. So I love it. I really didn’t believe in it… [even though] I know that there’s some stuff that I don’t experience, because I only have five senses and that’s it.” 

Yet that need for answers is, again, one of the things Satrapi says makes us human.

“The human being is the only animal who actually knows that he’s going to die,” says the director. “So it makes things very complex and at the same time complicated, and it gives them lots of problems.” Indeed, she traces much of humanity’s struggles over learning to be compassionate or empathetic to that knowledge of mortality. However, the filmmaker who also was forced to leave Iran as a young woman sincerely believes things are getting better in this world. Nuclear weapons or not.

“Frankly, I have faith in the human being,” she says. “People say, ‘Oh, it was much better before.’ But, much better before for who? In 1950, obviously if you were a man and you were white, and you were straight, it was great for you. But if you were a woman, if you were black, if you were homosexual, if you were all of that, it wasn’t good for you at all. We are living in a better world now. I mean, the world of before, it was war, war, war, war, and sometimes we had peace. The world of today is peace, peace, peace, peace, and sometimes we have war. We are progressing. This is work.”

And what of Madame Curie? What would the woman who lived through World War I think if she could see today, including the legacy of her discovery from the end of World War II to the many safe nuclear power plants lighting up France now?

Says Satrapi, “I think Marie was a very intelligent person, so she would look at you and say, “Yeah. This is it.”

Radioactive is available via VOD on Friday, July 24.

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