radioactive decay

1. Spontaneous disintegration of a radionuclide with the emission of energetic particles or radiation, such as alpha or beta particles or gamma rays.

2. An instance of such disintegration.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

radioactive decay

(Nuclear Physics) disintegration of a nucleus that occurs spontaneously or as a result of electron capture. One or more different nuclei are formed and usually particles and gamma rays are emitted. Sometimes shortened to: decay Also called: disintegration

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ra·di·o·ac·tive decay

(rā′dē-ō-ăk′tĭv)

The spontaneous breakdown of a radioactive nucleus into a lighter nucleus. Radioactive decay causes the release of radiation in the form of alpha particles, beta particles, or gamma rays. The end result of radioactive decay is the creation of a stable atomic nucleus.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

radioactive decay

The decrease in the radiation intensity of any radioactive material with respect to time.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

radioactive decay - the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation

disintegration, decay

alpha decay - radioactive decay of an atomic nucleus that is accompanied by the emission of an alpha particle

beta decay - radioactive decay of an atomic nucleus that is accompanied by the emission of a beta particle

nuclear reaction - (physics) a process that alters the energy or structure or composition of atomic nuclei

Translations

décroissance radioactive

radioaktivt sönderfall

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Considering the leading decay mode of the RHNs (N [right arrow] Wl) and depending on the choice of the final states, W will decay either leptonically or hadronically.

Searching for the Minimal Seesaw Models at the LHC and Beyond

The decay mode data used in the gamma ray spectroscopic analysis of the radioisotopes investigated were taken from Ref.

Evaluation of optical potential for (n,2n) cross section reactions and yields for spherical zirconium isotopes

The current decay mode is selected after determining the voltage level at PFD input, in case VPFD voltage is greater than 0.6 x VDD (VDD = 5 V), then the slow decay mode is selected, in case it is lower than 0.21 x VDD the fast decay mode is selected.

Investigation of precise flat angle positioning controller

"We know exactly what signal we are looking for in our data, and we see strong indications of the production and decay of Higgs bosons in a crucial decay mode with a pair of bottom quarks, which is difficult to observe at the LHC.

Best evidence yet found for 'God particle'

We describe the way to find events containing B-mesons among many background events for the case of a typical decay mode, [B.sup.0] [right arrow] J/[PSI] Ks.

The discovery of CP violation in B-meson decays

Because the two accelerators hunt for the Higgs in different ways--the Tevatron would detect the proposed particle's most common decay products, a bottom quark and its antiparticle, while the Large Hadron Collider would record a rarer decay mode that produces two photons--the searches are not only competitive but complementary.

Lack of funds will force Fermilab to shut Tevatron by September's end: U.S. atom smasher will cede Higgs search to Europe's LHC

Results of the first experiment to search for the radiative decay mode of the free neutron are reported.

Search for radiative [beta]-decay of the free neutron

These predictions show that the radiative decay mode of the neutron, while a rare process, should be observable in the laboratory.

Detecting the radiative decay mode of the neutron

The fastest decay mode occurs when a positron having an antiparallel quantum spin forms a bound state with an electron of the same quantum spin state.

A review of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy as applied to the physical aging of polymers