Radium seventh of a gram of radium. One kilogram of the Earth's crust contains about 900 picograms of radium, and one liter of sea water contains about 89 femtograms of radium. Radium was discovered by Marie Sklodowska-Curie and her husband Pierre Curie on 21 December 1898, in a uraninite (pitchblende) sample. While studying the mineral earlier, the Curies removed uranium from it and found that the remaining material was still radioactive. They separated out an element similar to bismuth from pitchblende in July 1898, that turned out to be polonium. They then separated out a radioactive mixture consisting mostly of two
Radium bromide as possible to use it for medical purposes. However, it was not long until radium and radium salts were thought of as magical substances and were added to food, drinks, clothing, toys and more. Respectable journals in the early 1900s published statements claiming that radium had no toxic effect. Scientists were racing against each other trying to be the first to successfully use radium to cure health problems. Radium salts, including radium bromide, were most often used by placing the chemical in a tube that was then passed over or inserted into the problem site or tissue in the body.