Science on This Day: 7 November | Marie Curie, Raman Scattering and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Science history can help students see how scientific knowledge develops through careful observation, experiments and the investigation of unexpected results. It also shows that science is rarely confined to one subject. Chemistry can contribute to medicine, physics can help identify materials, and engineering failures can reveal how forces interact with structures.
On 7 November, three events provide useful classroom connections. Marie Curie was born in Warsaw in 1867, and her research on radioactivity led to Nobel Prizes in both Physics and Chemistry. Physicist C. V. Raman, born in India on 7 November 1888, investigated how light scatters when it interacts with matter. On the same date in 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in strong winds, becoming an important case study in structural engineering and aeroelastic flutter.
These stories can support lessons in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering, while giving students opportunities to think about how scientists use evidence to explain the world.
1. Marie Curie is born, 1867
Chemistry | Physics | Radioactivity and medicine
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was born in Warsaw on 7 November 1867. Her research on radioactivity made major contributions to both physics and chemistry, and she became the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. She later received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, making her an especially useful example of scientific work that crosses disciplinary boundaries.
Radioactivity refers to the process in which unstable atomic nuclei release energy and particles as they change. Curie’s research helped scientists investigate radioactive materials and develop a deeper understanding of the properties of atoms. These discoveries became important to later applications in areas such as medical diagnosis and treatment, although using radiation safely requires careful control of exposure.
Curie’s story can help students distinguish between a scientific discovery and its applications. Understanding radioactive materials is one task; deciding how to use them in medicine or research is another. Each requires evidence, careful measurement and an understanding of risks as well as potential benefits.
For middle school students, this can be an opportunity to connect atomic structure with examples of radiation in everyday life and medicine. High school students can investigate the difference between alpha, beta and gamma radiation, how radioactive decay is measured, or why radiation can both damage living cells and be used in carefully controlled medical treatments.
The story also raises questions about how science is organised. Curie’s work did not fit neatly into a single subject, showing how discoveries can connect ideas that students often learn in separate classes.
Classroom question: How can research into one scientific phenomenon, such as radioactivity, contribute to physics, chemistry and medicine?
2. C. V. Raman is born, 1888
Physics | Light | Materials science
C. V. Raman was born in India on 7 November 1888. His research into the scattering of light led to the discovery of the effect now known as Raman scattering, which provides scientists with a way to investigate the properties and composition of materials.
When light interacts with matter, it can be scattered in different ways. In Raman scattering, a small fraction of the scattered light changes energy because it exchanges energy with molecular vibrations or other motions within the material. By measuring these changes, scientists can learn about the molecules present in a sample and how they are bonded.
This provides a striking example of how light can reveal information that is not visible just by looking at an object. Two materials might appear similar to the eye but have different molecular structures. Analysing their scattered light can help researchers tell them apart.
Raman spectroscopy is now used in areas including chemistry, materials research, pharmaceuticals and the study of cultural heritage. Depending on the sample and equipment, it can help identify substances without requiring the same kind of destructive testing that some other analytical methods involve.
In the classroom, Raman’s work offers a link between the behaviour of light and the structure of matter. Students can begin with the familiar idea that objects interact with light, then explore how scientific instruments measure properties beyond colour and brightness. High school students studying waves and atomic or molecular structure can discuss how a change in light energy can provide evidence about a material’s internal structure.
Classroom question: How can measuring light scattered from a material help scientists identify what that material contains?
A useful follow-up is to ask students to imagine they need to identify an unknown powder without tasting it or judging it only by appearance. What evidence could they collect? What would make a measurement reliable, and how could they compare the results with known samples?
3. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses, 1940
Physics | Engineering | Forces and motion
On 7 November 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State, USA, collapsed in strong winds. The bridge had opened only a few months earlier. Its failure became a widely discussed example of how wind, motion and the design of a structure can interact in complex ways.
The collapse is sometimes explained in simplified accounts as a straightforward case of resonance. However, the more accurate explanation involves aeroelastic flutter, a dynamic interaction between aerodynamic forces and the movement of the structure. As the bridge moved, its motion affected the forces exerted by the wind, which in turn influenced its movement. This interaction led to increasingly severe oscillations and structural failure.
The distinction matters because engineering explanations need to account for the actual evidence, not simply attach a familiar scientific term to an event. Resonance is an important concept, but it does not fully explain every structure that oscillates. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is therefore a useful case study in how scientific and engineering explanations become more precise as researchers investigate what happened.
For middle school students, the event can introduce forces, oscillations and the importance of testing designs under realistic conditions. High school students can examine how engineers use models, experiments and measurements to study structures exposed to wind. They can also discuss why engineers must consider more than whether a bridge can support a static load.
A simple classroom investigation could involve comparing paper strips, card structures or lightweight model bridges exposed to a gentle airflow. Students can change one design feature at a time and record how the structure responds. A model cannot fully reproduce the complex behaviour of a real bridge, but it can help students practise making controlled comparisons and recognising the limits of an investigation.
Classroom question: What evidence would engineers need to distinguish ordinary resonance from aeroelastic flutter when investigating a bridge failure?
How to use these stories in a science lesson
These events can be used as lesson starters, short reading tasks or discussion prompts.
They also offer an opportunity to practise explaining scientific ideas using evidence.
For a quick activity, ask students to match each event with a central question. Curie’s work asks how the study of radioactivity can contribute to different scientific fields. Raman’s research asks how light can reveal the composition of matter. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse asks how engineers investigate a failure and distinguish between competing explanations.
Students can then choose one story and write two follow-up questions: one they think could be answered using existing evidence, and another that would require further investigation. This helps develop question-formulation skills and encourages them to think about the difference between what is known and what still needs to be tested.
For upper elementary students, focus on the broad ideas of radioactive materials, light interacting with objects and forces acting on structures. Middle school students can compare explanations and identify the evidence needed to support them. High school students can investigate radioactive decay, light scattering or the difference between resonance and aeroelastic flutter in more detail.
These stories also provide cross-curricular connections. Curie’s research links chemistry and physics with medicine, Raman’s work connects waves with materials science, and the bridge collapse combines physics with engineering design and safety.
More science history to explore in November
November has many other events that can help teachers connect science with discoveries, inventions and real-world problems.
On 8 November, Wilhelm Röntgen’s discovery of X-rays provides a connection between electromagnetic radiation and medical imaging. The same date is associated with astronomer Edmond Halley, whose work on comets is a useful starting point for discussing how repeated observations can reveal patterns in the Solar System.
On 9 November, the major power-grid blackout across parts of the northeastern United States and Canada offers a case study in electrical systems and cascading failures. On 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development provides an opportunity to discuss the role of science in society, while the launch of Luna 17 carrying the Lunokhod 1 rover connects space exploration with robotics.
Later in the month, students can explore the first proposal for the World Wide Web on 12 November, the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species on 24 November, and the development of general relativity on 25 November. These stories offer connections to computing, biology, physics and the ways scientific explanations change as evidence develops.
The calendar also includes the launch of Mars Global Surveyor on 7 November 1996, which extended robotic exploration of Mars through orbital mapping and scientific measurements.
Find ready-to-use Science on This Day classroom resources
If you want to bring science history into lessons regularly, my November Science on This Day resource set includes 109 science and STEM stories across all 30 days of November. Each entry has a concise summary, a classroom discussion question and a source link.
The resource comes in four formats: an interactive HTML version, editable slides with discussion questions, a spreadsheet and a plain PDF. You can use the stories as lesson starters, short research tasks, retrieval practice or daily discussion prompts, choosing the format that works best for your classroom.
You can also explore The Teaching Astrophysicist store for other free and paid teaching materials, including science reading passages, question sets and inquiry activities across astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, Earth science and health.
Science history is a practical way to make curriculum concepts feel relevant. A discovery, an experiment or an engineering failure can give students a real example to investigate, helping them connect scientific knowledge with the evidence and reasoning behind it.
Thanks for reading
Cheers and stay curious
Oliver - The Teaching Astrophysicist
