While many recognize the name “Marie Curie,” few can name the accomplishments of Ellen Gleditsch, however, the two women worked together for several years.
In 1907, Gleditsch arrived at Paris to work with Curie and spent five years at the Curie lab. There, Gleditsch studied and eventually became an experienced researcher in radiochemistry.
In 1916, Gleditsch became Norway’s first associate professor in radiochemistry at the University of Oslo. In 1929, she was appointed full professor in inorganic chemistry, becoming the second female full professor in Norwegian history.
Gleditsch focused on two elements: radium and chlorine. At the time, American radiochemistry professor Bertram Boltwood (1870-1927) was seen as a prominent figure in the study of radium. However, Gleditsch disagreed with some of his procedures, including the procedure for collecting “radium emanation,” which was used to determine the amount of radium in the minerals. Using her own research, Gleditsch was able to accurately determine the half-life of radium.
In terms of chlorine, Gleditsch decided to investigate whether chlorine from different sources consistently had the same isotopic composition. If there was a varying isotopic composition, this would lead to a possible reconsideration of the constancy of atomic weights. However, Gleditsch concluded that chlorine’s average atomic weight didn’t vary, ultimately determining that the isotopic composition of chlorine did not vary from source to source.