Berta Karlik facts for kids

Berta Karlik (born January 24, 1904 – died February 4, 1990) was an important Austrian physicist. She made history by becoming the first female professor at the University of Vienna. Berta Karlik is best known for discovering that the chemical element astatine (element 85) occurs naturally. She found it as a product of natural radioactive decay. Before her discovery, astatine had only been created in laboratories.

About Berta Karlik

Her Early Life and Schooling

Berta Karlik was born in Vienna, Austria, into a well-off family. She was taught at home for her first years of school. During this time, she learned to play the piano. She also became fluent in French, Dutch, and English.

From 1919 to 1923, she attended a special high school called the Reform-Realgymnasium. After graduating in 1923, she went to the University of Vienna. She studied there until 1928, earning her Ph.D. in physics.

While at the university, Berta became a key member of Hans Pettersson's research team. She was an expert in using a tool called a scintillation counter. This tool helps detect radiation. She also received a special scholarship from the International Federation of University Women. This allowed her to travel while working for the Radium Institute. After getting her degree, Berta taught at a high school in Vienna. It was the same school she had attended herself!

Starting Her Science Career

In 1930, Berta Karlik got a job at a lab in London. This lab was run by the famous scientist William Henry Bragg. There, she studied crystallography, which is about the structure of crystals. She used X-rays to see how crystals were put together.

Her deep knowledge of radiophysics caught the attention of other well-known crystallographers. These included Ellie Knaggs and Helen Gilchrist. In the same year she joined their group, she also visited Marie Curie's lab in Paris. This visit marked the beginning of her long connection with many other female physicists.

Berta Karlik often wrote letters to Marie Curie. She also regularly corresponded with other important physicists. These included Ellen Gleditsch and Eva Resmtedt, who were both researchers with Curie. She was also very close friends with Lise Meitner. Berta and Lise met often throughout their lives. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission.

Important Research and Discoveries

After studying in Paris and London, Berta Karlik began working at the Institut für Radiumforschung in Vienna in 1931. She was allowed to give lectures starting in 1937. Slowly, she moved up in the institute's leadership.

At the same time, Karlik joined a group studying seawater. This group was led by the Swedish physicist Hans Pettersson. Berta combined her knowledge of oceanography and radioactivity. She helped raise concerns about uranium contamination in seawater. This was an important biological issue.

During World War II, Berta Karlik made her most famous discovery. She found that the element with atomic number 85, called Astatine, was produced naturally. It came from natural radioactive decay processes. Astatine is mainly used in radiotherapy. This is a type of treatment that helps kill cancer cells. Because of this amazing discovery, Berta Karlik received the Haitinger Prize for Chemistry in 1947. This award came from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

She became the temporary director of the institute in 1945. Then, in 1947, after her discovery of astatine, she became the official director. In 1956, Berta Karlik became the first woman to be a full professor at the University of Vienna. She retired in 1973, but she continued to work at the institute until her death in 1990.

See also

In Spanish: Berta Karlik para niños