I was watching a little of the Greer Garson/Walter Pidgeon film this morning about Marie Curie and her husband, and there was a scene depicting the repeated failures the two had in separating radium from berium. My question is, why did they have such difficulty doing this? Is it a challenge to isolate *any * element? Or is this separation something that can be done today lickety-split?
Uh, I guess that’s three questions. Tanks in advance, anyone.
Interest piqued,
Mal
The short answer is yes, it’s an enormous challenge.
Radium and barium are not neat little discrete chunks like fruit in a fruitcake. They are atoms mixed into an indistinguishable whole, like peas in a pea soup. They have much the same properties and respond to many of the same chemical techniques. Separating one from the other, especially when they are hidden at one part to a million in the first place, took heroic measures and infinite patience.
Today’s techniques are far more precise and delicate. Check out Coupling Gas Chromatography to Mass Spectrometry for some details.
Thanks! I will check this out at lunch.
Do not, do not, do NOT tell me I misspelled *barium * in the thread title and the OP. Jeebuz Christ in a chicken basket.
Anyway- much obliged, Exapno. I remain intrigued and shall read more.
I have no answer to the specific question, but I’m glad there’s somebody else in the world who’s seen this rather odd movie. A weepy old-fashioned romantic melodrama crammed into the same film with hard science. I liked it, but I :dubious:'d a lot.
Well. . . I like old melodramas as much as the next guy, but the science hooked me on this one much more than any uber-dramatic orchestral accompaniment or the soap opera pauses.
Gorry, Greer Garson was beautiful, though.
OK we won’t tell you 
I did wonder whether we were going to be talking about chemistry or the latest breakfast cereal. 