The Discovery of Polonium and Radium – its Scientific and Philosophical Consequences, Benefits and Threats to Mankind

We hereby present to the Readers the Proceedings of the international conference “The Discovery of Polonium and Radium – its Scientific and Philosophical Consequences, Benefits and Threats to Mankind”, held in Warsaw on September 17-20 1998. This conference was the crowning point of celebrations of the centennial of the discovery of the Polonium and radium, which took place in Poland under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Poland Mr Aleksander Kwaśniewski and of an Honorary Committee which he chaired, with the active involvement of the Scientific and Organizing Committees.

Altogether more than thirty Conferences, symposia, scientific seminars, public lectures, exhibitions and cinema shows were held in Poland over that period in relation with celebrations. A number of valuable publications appeared, and topics of scientific research enjoyed an increased presence of media.

The celebrations in Poland were held in close cooperation with France, the land of the discovery of radioactivity and Maria Sklodowska-Curie’s second homeland. At the same time, they formed an important contribution to the wide range of events with which the world-wide scientific community reaffirmed that the discovery of Polonium and Radium not only opened new areas for research, but even today continues to provide meaningful inspiration for new scientific inquiry.

For these reasons the organizers of the conference “The Discovery of Polonium and Radium…” gave it the form of a series of symposia devoted to presenting areas of scientific research, both traditional and recent, inspired by the discovery of radioactivity, informing about the scientific progress that has been achieved, and, to the extent possible, about the foreseeable directions of future research.

The present Proceedings includes all those presentations and speeches, which were submitted to the editors in written form in response to the organizers’ appeal. However, since all the authors responded to this appeal, we have provided a brief note on each session with a summary of its course and a list of contributors to the discussion. The full list of the participants of the conference given at the end of the Proceedings will serve as an aid to continue the contacts made in the course of the event and to established new ones.

Dr.Jacek Kornacki

Secretary

The Organizing Committee

International Conference

THE DISCOVERY OF POLONIUM AND RADIUM

ITS SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL CONSEQUENCES, BENEFITS AND THREATS TO MANKIND

17-20 SEPTEMBER 1998 WARSAW POLAND

HONORARY COMMITTEE OF THE CENTARY CELEBRATIONS

CHAIRMAN

H.E Aleksander Kwaśniewski

President of the Republic of Poland

MEMBERS

Mr Werner Arber, President of ICSU; Mr Constant Burg, Director, Institute Curie; Ms Marianne Grunberg-Manago, Past President, Academy of Sciences – Institute of France; Ms Hélène Langevin-Joliot, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Orsay; Mr Pierre Joliot, Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology, Paris; Mr Zbigniew Krupa, Vice-Rector, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin; Mr Jerzy Kolodziejczak, Chairman, Section of Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Tadeusz Krygowski, Past President, Polish Chemical Society; Mr Jean Lemerle, President, P. and M. Curie University, Paris; Mr Jacques-Louis Lions, President, Academy of Sciences – Institute of France; Mr Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO; Mr Miroslaw Mossakowski, Vice-President, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Wiltod Rudowski, President, Warsaw Scientific Society; Mr Henryk Szymczak, Past President, Polish Physical Society.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE OF THE CENTARY CELEBRATIONS

CHAIRMAN

MR Jerzy Kolodziejczak

Chairman, Section of Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences

MEMBERS

Mr Osman Achmatowiczg, Chairman, Department of Chemical Sciences, Warsaw Scientific Society; Mr Wojciech Falkowski, Secretary General, Polish National Committee for UNESCO; Mr Antoni Gajewski, President, Polish Society of Radiation Research; Mr Stanislaw Galant, Chairman of the Board, Polish Foundation for radiation Research; Mr Maciej Grabski, President, Polish Foundation for Science; Mrs Barbara Gwiazdowska, Society in Tribute of Maria Sklodowska-Curie; Mr Janusz Haman, President, Polish Foundation for Science Advancement; Mr Józef Hurwic, University of Provence, Marseille; Mr Jerzy Jastrzebski, Heavy Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Jerzy Kroh, President, Polish Foundation for Radiation Research, Deputy Mayor of the City of Lódź, Mr Janusz Lipkowski, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Mieczyslaw Makosza, Director, Institute of Advancement, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Jerzy Niewodniczań, President, National Atomic Energy Agency; Mr Jan Jaworski, Curator, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Museum; Mr Grzegorz Pawlicki, Committee for Medical Physics and Radiobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Henryk Ratajczak, Director, Scientific Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences in Paris; Mr Witold Rudowski, President, Warsaw Scientific Society; Mr Slawomir Sterliński, Central Laboratory of Radiological Protection; Mr Henryk Szymczak, Past President, Polish Physical Society; Mr Wladyslaw Wlosiński, Vice Rector Warsaw University of Technology; Mr Jan Żylicz, Institute of Experimental Physics, Warsaw Universty.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF THE CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

CHAIRMAN

Mr Miroslaw Mossakowski

Vice-President, Polish Academy of Sciences

MEMBERS

Mr Wiltod Blachowicz, Press Officer, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Marek Chmielewski, Deputy Chairman Section of Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences; Mr Jan K.Frackowiak, undersecretary of State, State Committee for Scientific Research; Mr Bronislaw Geremek, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mr Maciej R.Gielecki, Voivode of Warsaw; Mr Miroslaw Handke, Minister of National Education; Mr Andrzej Hrynkiewicz, Polish Academy of Sciences and Arts, Mr Bohdan Jastrzebski, Past Voivode of Warsaw; Mr Rafat Marszalek, Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr Mariusz Kosieradzki, President, Public Opinion Research Center; Mr Zbigniew Krupa, Vice Rector of the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin Mr Stanislaw Latek, Director, National Atomic Energy Agency; Mr Krzysztof Michalski, Past Chairman of the Board of the Polish Radio; Mr Jerzy Marek Nowakowski, Undersecretary of State, Chancellery of Prime-Minister of Poland; Mr Slawomir Ratajski, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Culture and Art; Mr Lech Szyngwelski, Adviser of the Mayor of the City of Warsaw; Mr Jerzy Wysokiński, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Poland.

SECRETARY

Mr Jacek Kornacki, Adviser to the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences.