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13 Chapter One: History

Invisible Rays No one paid much attention to the mysterious element until 1896, when Antoine- Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium gave off powerful, invisible rays. Becquerel came from a family of distinguished scholars and scientists. His father, Alexandre- Edmond Becquerel, had researched solar radiation and phosphorescence, which is the emission of light without heat.

Uranium glass from the mid-19th century, in the Teylers Museum, the Netherlands.