--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must not forget that when radium was…" description: "\"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/marie-curie-8496_benefits_we-must-not-forget-that-when-radium-was_62920.jpg" --- # We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one… ![“We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the…” quote by Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/marie-curie-8496_benefits_we-must-not-forget-that-when-radium-was_62920.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/marie-curie-8496_benefits_we-must-not-forget-that-when-radium-was_62920.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/marie-curie-8496_benefits_we-must-not-forget-that-when-radium-was_62920.jpg) > “We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity.” [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific research should be pursued for its intrinsic value and curiosity, not solely for immediate practical applications; unforeseen benefits may later emerge. **In simple terms:** Value of pure science Key Takeaway Pure research can yield unexpected societal gains Themes Philosophy of science Innovation Uncertainty Historical examples Ethics Mood Inspirational Reflective Optimistic Type Anecdotal Philosophical When to use this quote - Funding decisions - Academic curricula - Policy debates - Public perception of research Key Concepts Intrinsic motivation Serendipity Long-term impact Practical Applications - Advocating for basic research funding - Designing science education curricula Questions to Reflect On - What criteria should guide research investment? - How can we balance curiosity-driven and goal-oriented science? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Radium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-radium-849954/) [Like Radium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-radium-849955/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Proof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Radium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radium/) [Radium Benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radium-benefit-849956/) [Radium Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radium-discovered-849953/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-discovery/) [Usefulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usefulness/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/we-must-not-forget-that-when-radium-was-discovered-no-one-knew-that-2/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/scientific-work-must-not-be-considered-from-the-point-of-view-of-the/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [When radium was discovered, no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/when-radium-was-discovered-no-one-knew-that-it-would-prove-useful-in/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [“At my urgent request the Curie laboratory, in which radium was discovered a short time ago, was shown to me. The Curies themselves were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ostwald-wilhelm/at-my-urgent-request-the-curie-laboratory-in-which-radium-was/) [Ostwald Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ostwald-wilhelm/) > [Prayer, like radium, is a luminous and self-generating form of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-carrel/prayer-like-radium-is-a-luminous-and-self-generating-form-of-energy/) [Alexis Carrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-carrel/) > [“Radium is not to enrich any one. It is an element; it is for all people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/radium-is-not-to-enrich-any-one-it-is-an-element-it-is-for-all-people/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [The various reasons which we have enumerated lead us to believe that the new radio-active substance contains a new element which we propose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/the-various-reasons-which-we-have-enumerated-lead-us-to-believe-that/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [The first experiments on the biological properties of radium were successfully made in France, with samples from our laboratory, while my husband was living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/the-first-experiments-on-the-biological-properties-of-radium-were/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Sometimes I had to spend a whole day mixing a boiling mass with a heavy iron rod nearly as large as myself. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/sometimes-i-had-to-spend-a-whole-day-mixing-a-boiling-mass-with-a/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Pierre Curie voluntarily exposed his arm to the action of radium for several hours. This resulted in damage resembling a burn that developed progressively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/pierre-curie-voluntarily-exposed-his-arm-to-the-action-of-radium-for/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [For there is a virtue in truth; it has an almost mystic power. Like radium, it seems to give off forever and ever grains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-there-is-a-virtue-in-truth-it-has-an-almost-mystic-power-like/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The various reasons we have just enumerated lead us to believe that the new radioactive substance contains a new element to which we propose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/the-various-reasons-we-have-just-enumerated-lead-us-to-believe-that/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Now is the time to understand more, so we fear less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/now-is-the-time-to-understand-more-so-we-fear-less/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Doctors' investment in radium...the price of radium increased 1,000% when they began to use it on cancer victims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erland-josephson/doctors-investment-in-radium-the-price-of-radium-increased-1-000-when/) [Erland Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erland-josephson/) > [“Yet the flip side of the coin was all the positive literature about radium. As early as 1914, specialists knew that radium could deposit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-moore/yet-the-flip-side-of-the-coin-was-all-the-positive-literature-about/) [Kate Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-moore/) ## More by Marie Curie > [The various reasons we have just enumerated lead us to believe that the new radioactive substance contains a new element to which we propose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/the-various-reasons-we-have-just-enumerated-lead-us-to-believe-that/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [The sensitive plate, the gas which is ionised, the fluorescent screen, are in reality receivers, into another kind of energy, chemical energy, ionic energy...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/the-sensitive-plate-the-gas-which-is-ionised-the-fluorescent-screen/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/i-am-among-those-who-think-that-science-has-great-beauty-a-scientist/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [In chemical terms, radium differs little from barium; the salts of these two elements are isomorphic, while those of radium are usually less soluble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/in-chemical-terms-radium-differs-little-from-barium-the-salts-of/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [In 1906, just as we were definitely giving up the old shed laboratory where we had been so happy, there came the dreadful catastrophe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/in-1906-just-as-we-were-definitely-giving-up-the-old-shed-laboratory/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/life-is-not-easy-for-any-of-us-but-what-of-that-we-must-have/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/you-cannot-hope-to-build-a-better-world-without-improving-the/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/i-am-among-those-who-think-that-science-has-great-beauty-a-scientist-2/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Pierre Curie voluntarily exposed his arm to the action of radium for several hours. This resulted in damage resembling a burn that developed progressively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/pierre-curie-voluntarily-exposed-his-arm-to-the-action-of-radium-for/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [It's always good to marry your best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/it-s-always-good-to-marry-your-best-friend/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, of how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/i-have-frequently-been-questioned-especially-by-women-of-how-i-could/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/all-my-life-through-the-new-sights-of-nature-made-me-rejoice-like-a/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [Scientist believe in things, not in person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/scientist-believe-in-things-not-in-person/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/there-are-sadistic-scientists-who-hurry-to-hunt-down-errors-instead/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [All my mind was centered on my studies, which, especially at the beginning, were difficult. In fact, I was insufficiently prepared to follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/all-my-mind-was-centered-on-my-studies-which-especially-at-the/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) [Explore all 80 Marie Curie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) ## More Benefits quotes > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-think-of-education-as-the-means-of-developing-our-greatest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/i-won-the-seat-of-oxley-largely-on-an-issue-that-has-resulted-in-me/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) [Browse all 3,616 Benefits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. 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