Alice Leigh-Smith

Alice Leigh-Smith (née Prebil) was an English nuclear physicist. She married Philip Leigh-Smith, the son of the Arctic explorer Benjamin Leigh-Smith, in 1933. She was a student of Marie Curie and was the first British woman to receive a PhD in nuclear physics.[1] She, together with Walter Minder, announced the discovery of element 85 (now called astatine)[2] in 1942.[3] They proposed the name anglohelvetium[3] for the new element. Later it was proven that in fact Walter Minder had not discovered element 85.[2][4] Leigh-Smith was also involved in the use of radioactive substances as a treatment for cancer.

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References

  1. ↑ Stanley, A (1993). Mothers and daughters of invention : Notes for a revised history of technology. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-8135-2197-8.
  2. 1 2 Nefedov, VD; Norseev, Yu V; Toropova, M A; Khalkin, Vladimir A (1968). "Astatine". Russian Chemical Reviews 37 (2): 87. Bibcode:1968RuCRv..37...87N. doi:10.1070/RC1968v037n02ABEH001603.
  3. 1 2 Leigh-Smith, A; Minder, W (1942). "Experimental Evidence of the Existence of Element 85 in the Thorium Family". Nature 150 (3817): 767–768. Bibcode:1942Natur.150..767L. doi:10.1038/150767a0.
  4. ↑ Karlik, B; Bernert, T (1942). "Über eine vermutete ß-Strahlung des Radium A und die natürliche Existenz des Elementes 85". Naturwissenschaften 30 (44–45): 685. Bibcode:1942NW.....30..685K. doi:10.1007/BF01487965.
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