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Question
Why was the gift of a ton pitchblende, a great stroke of luck, to the Curies?
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Solution
- The Curies were passionate about their research on pitchblende.
- Pitchblende was very expensive and despite sacrificing a lot of things to buy small amounts of it, their efforts didn’t prove to be enough.
- Hence, when they were gifted a ton of pitchblende by the emperor of Austria, they restarted their work with renewed energy.
- After working indomitably for more than 4 years, the Curies were finally able to obtain Polonium and Radium from Pitchblende.
Therefore, it can be said that the gift of a ton of pitchblende was a great stroke of luck to the Curies.
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