Henri Becquerel and radioactivity
a critical revision
pp. 107-117
in: Décio Krause, Antonio A. Passos Videira (eds), Brazilian studies in philosophy and history of science, Berlin, Springer, 2011Abstract
In his early papers, Becquerel interpreted the emission of penetrating radiation by uranium and its compounds as a type of invisible phosphorescence, with emission of some kind of electromagnetic radiation. He devised experiments that seemed to confirm his interpretation and that were later disconfirmed by other researchers. This paper analyses the early history of radioactivity, paying special attention to Becquerel's mistakes and to the attitude of other scientists to his work.
