What two elements are named after women?
Curium [Cm]– Named after Marie Skłodowska–Curie (and her husband Pierre Curie) in 1944. Marie Curie was a chemist who created the theory of radioactivity and along with here husband coined the term “radioactive”. Together they discovered two new elements, radium and polonium. Marie Curie is one of only four people to win two Nobel prizes.
Meitnerium [Mt] – Named after Lise Meitner in 1992. Lise Meiter was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission. Otto Hahn, her collaborator, was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery. Her contribution was overlooked by the committee.
A few mythical women are also represented on the periodic table.
Niobium [Nb] – Named after Niobe, a tragic mortal woman from Greek mythology.
Vanadium [V]– Named after the beautiful Scandinavian goddess Vanadis (a.k.a. Freyja). She was the is the goddess of love and fertility.
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This Q&A by Hillori Mitchell
A few years ago Hillori was sharing some fun bits of science trivia with friends when one of them told her, "You're just too smart!" A couple weeks later Just2Smart.com was born.
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