1 gen 1896 anni - Henri Becquerel (1852 - 1908)

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Contributions: Received the Nobel Prize in physics for being the first to discover radioactivity as a phenomenon separate from that of x-rays and document the differences between the two.
Henri Becquerel learned of Roentgen's discovery of x-rays through the fluorescence that some materials produce. Using a method similar to that of Roentgen, Becquerel surrounded several photographic plates with black paper and florescent salts. With the intention of further advancing the study of x-rays, Becquerel intended to place the concealed photographic paper in the sunlight and observe what transpired. Unfortunately, he had to delay his experiment because the skies over Paris were overcast. He placed the wrapped plates into a dark desk drawer. After a few days Becquerel returned to his experiment unwrapping the photographic paper and developing it, expecting only a light imprint from the salts. Instead, the salts left very distinct outlines in the photographic paper suggesting that the salts, regardless of lacking an energy source, continually fluoresced. What Becquerel had discovered was radioactivity.

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