Polonium has few applications, and those are related to its ⦠Her research had revealed that two uranium ores, pitchblende and chalcolite, were much more radioactive than pure uranium itself. They discovered that very few halos were found ⦠Polonium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie from the ores of uranium in 1989. Polonium is the chemical element with symbol Po and atomic number 84 in the periodic table. Becquerel, while studying X-rays, had accidentally discovered that uranium salts gave off what Marie called ârays of a peculiar character.â She chose to make the investigation of these rays the topic of ⦠This element was discovered by Marie Sklodowska Curie and Pierre Curie in 1898. They wrote: âWe believe the substance we have extracted from pitchblende contains a metal never known before, similar ⦠Polonium (Po) is a very rare and highly volatile radioactive metal. Polonium-210 is a rare radioactive metal discovered by Marie Curie in the late 19th century. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of the elements radium and polonium in their research of pitchblende. It was discovered in 1989 owing to its highly radioactive nature. This led to the discoveries of the elements polonium and radium. Polonium is an alpha-emitter, hence it is used in antistatic devices and for research purposes. The discovery of polonium and radium. The spark plugs were only manufactured for about 3-4 years in the 1940's, though, since the benefits were minimal and short-lived. History and Discovery. She concluded that the highly radioactive nature of these ores might be due to one or ⦠Polonium was the first element discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie. To reach this conclusion, RATE scientists examined rocks from the Precambrian, Paleo-Mesozoic, and Tertiary periods for presence of polonium halos. It was identified as a distinct element due to its highly radioactive nature. They discovered polonium and then radium in 1898 in Paris, while investigating radioactivity in pitchblende (uranium oxide).. It took four more years of processing tons of ore to isolate enough of each element to determine their chemical properties. Polonium is a highly radioactive element. Polonium was the cause, and it took several tons of pitchblende to yield very small amounts (10 -6 g per ton of ore). Becquerel had discovered radioactivity. Polonium-210 is one of the world's rarest elements, discovered in 1898 by scientists Marie and Pierre Curie and ⦠Ernest Rutherford, who did many experiments studying the properties of radioactive ⦠Polonium was named after Marie Curie's homeland of Poland. Uses of Polonium. The Discovery of Polonium and Radium. IERRE WAS SO INTRIGUED by Marie's work that he joined forces with her. Polonium ended up being the radioactive element of choice since it was safer than radium and more effective than uranium or thorium. Polonium was discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie, when it was extracted from the uranium ore pitchblende and identified solely by its strong radioactivity: it was the first element to be so discovered. What is Polonium? Why was Polonium discovered? Curie was attempting to to explain why pitchblende (a form of the mineral uraninite) from Joachimsthal, Bohemia was radioactive.