Marie Curie was present in such minute quantities that they would eventually have to process tons of the ore. In July 1898, Curie and her husband published a joint paper announcing the existence of an element which they named "polonium", in honour of her native Poland, which would for another twenty years remain partitioned among three empires (Russian, Austrian, and Prussian). On 26 December 1898, the Curies announced the existence of a second element, which they named "radium", from the Latin word for "ray". In the course of their research, they also coined the word "radioactivity". To prove their discoveries beyond any
Polonium trioxide Polonium trioxide Polonium trioxide (also known as polonium(VI) oxide) is a chemical compound with the formula PoO. It is one of three oxides of polonium, the other two being polonium monoxide (PoO) and polonium dioxide (PoO). It is an interchalcogen. It has so far only been detected in traces. It has been reported that trace quantities of polonium trioxide form during the anodic deposition of polonium from acidic solutions; although there is no experimental evidence for this, the fact that the deposit dissolves in hydrogen peroxide suggests that it contains polonium in a high oxidation state. It has been predicted