Resumen de The scientific life of Marieta da Silveira
Marieta da Silveira (1917-2004) was born in the one of the Azores islands, and came to Lisbon where she graduated in physics and chemistry in the Faculty of Sciences.
She started research in the field of nuclear science in the Centre for Studies in Physics, where she studied the absorption of the Uranium X radiation. The hypothesis of the existence of natural radioactivity by spontaneous emission of neutrons was one of her results, published in Portugaliae Physica. She obtained her PhD in 1945 and she continued working in the Centre until 1947, when senior researchers were expelled from the University for political reasons. The same political reasons led to a situation where she, although not expelled, was also segregated. Some years later she started working with geologists, studying radioactive minerals, doing research work where Portuguese uranium minerals, including those originated in the Portuguese colonies, are analysed.
This work was more ambitious than the previous articles published in the first half of the century on the same theme –their authors were aware they were doing scientific research.
Marieta da Siveira’s research work was of great quality and some of her publications are mentioned in international documents of history of science (BAYER, R. T., Foundations of Nuclear Physics, New York, Dover Publications Inc., 1949). Besides these research activities, she was also an outstanding teacher.
