Major Accomplishments
Henri Becquerel's research was one of the most important of his time. He was awarded the Nobel Prize, the Rumford Medal, the Helmholtz Medal, and the Barnard Medal for his great achievement. Throughout his life he conducted tests involving Uranium and other substances. It was with these experiments that he discovered radioactivity. He discovered that a sample of Uranium was able to expose a photographic plate even when the samples were separated by a piece of black paper. This is the basis for modern day x-rays and other advanced medical technology. He also found that some chemicals randomly deteriorate and give off powerful penetrating rays. It is with his great discoveries that other scientists were able to continue with his research and discover more groundbreaking evidence contributing to a better understanding of the Atomic Theory. Although he was not appreciated a lot while he was a scientist, it was revealed how valuable his work truly was when scientists Marie and Pierre Curie continued to use it for further studies. His son Jean Becquerel also became a scientist and the family contributed extremely important information for generations to come. Without him, we would not have the same medical technology or as well of an understanding of the Atomic Theory that we have today.