what was the purpose of discoveries and uses for nuclear substances when first invented?
When radioactive substances were first discovered there was no real use for them other than utilizing the glow of radium on watch and clock dials to allow people to read the time in the dark. This became a major industry and the work was usually done by girls and women who hand painted the radium on the dials with paint brushes. These women and girls were among the first cases of industrial radiation exposure in the modern era. It was common practice to put a point on the paint brushes by twirling the tip of the bristles in the mouth of the painter. This led to a large number of cases of mouth cancer among the women doing the work. In addition to this use of radium, there were a variety of patent medicines which contained radium in one form or another. It was believed to have beneficial effects when taken internally and solutions containing radium were sold to “cure what ails you”. Of course this was not true and some of the medicines produced ill effects in those who took them, often
