Alice Armstrong facts for kids

Alice H. Armstrong was an American scientist who studied physics. She is famous for her important work at the National Bureau of Standards. There, she made sure that the radium used in the United States was safe and measured correctly. In 1931, she was chosen as a Fellow of the American Physical Society, which is a big honor for physicists.

Early Life and Learning

Alice Armstrong grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts. She went to a small country school with only two rooms. Later, she attended Waltham High School. There, she learned different languages like Latin, German, and French.

Her mother hoped Alice would go to Smith College. But Alice chose Wellesley College instead after visiting it with a friend. At first, she planned to study French and German. However, her older half-brother, who was an engineer, suggested she take a physics class. She liked it so much that she decided to major in physics. She also studied chemistry. Alice graduated from Wellesley in 1919.

Her Amazing Career

While at Wellesley, Alice became very interested in radioactivity. After she graduated, she got a job at the National Bureau of Standards.

Working with Radium

The Bureau had a special lab for radium. This lab was in charge of checking the quality and amount of radium samples. Radium is a radioactive element that was used in many ways back then, including in medicine.

The director of the lab was often away because of stomach problems. So, Alice found herself in charge very quickly. She later said, "After only a few months, I found myself more or less in charge of certifying all the radium sold in the United States." This was a huge responsibility! She made sure that the radium was measured accurately and was safe to use.

Further Studies and Research

After working at the Bureau of Standards for three years, Alice went to Radcliffe College. There, she continued her studies and researched X-ray spectroscopy with a scientist named William Duane.

During her time studying, she became ill for about six months. This happened because she was exposed to too many X-rays. This shows how important it is to handle radioactive materials and X-rays safely.

Teaching and Later Work

After her graduate studies, Alice worked as an instructor at Wellesley College. In 1927, she took a job as an assistant at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.

In 1942, she held an important position as secretary-treasurer for the New England section of the American Physical Society.

Later, she returned to Wellesley College again and became a physics professor. In 1953, she left Wellesley to do research at Los Alamos. This laboratory is famous for its scientific research.