ON THE DISCOVERY OF ARTIFICIAL RADIOACTIVITY

A review is presented of the elegant Joliot-Curie physical experiments which showed for the first time the possibility of producing artifici al radioactive nuclei. An attempt has been made to explain the results of their equally elegant chemical experiments that unequivocally demo nstrated the chemical change of elements by nuclear processes. These e xperiments are discussed in the light of present-day radiochemistry, k eeping in mind the scientific and historical context in which they wer e originally performed.