banana

en-noun

banana (countable and uncountable, plural bananas)

Borrowed from Portuguese banana or Spanish banana, derived from a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Guinea region. Specific derivation is unclear. Possible ancestor or cognate languages include Wolof banaana, Eastern Maninkakan banana, and Vai ꕒꘌꕯ (ɓaana) or ꕒꕌꕯ (ɓaana). However, Ay Baati Wolof (Munro & Gaye, 1997) posits that Wolof banaana is itself derived from Portuguese banana.
The racial slur derives from the notion that they are "Yellow (East-Asian) on the outside, White (Westernized) on the inside".

banánový (corresponding to English attributive use)

(corresponding to English attributive use) banánový

The tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas, a plant of the genus Musa (but sometimes also including plants from Ensete), which has large, elongated leaves.

(derogatory, ethnic slur) A person of East or Southeast Asian descent, considered to be overly assimilated and subservient to white authority.

banana equivalent dose
banana equivalent dose

(nuclear physics) A banana equivalent dose.

(computer science, colloquial) A catamorphism (from the use of banana brackets in the notation).


DU

University of Denver
w:University of Denver


gray

Named after English physicist Louis Harold Gray (1905–1965).

named-after

Coordinate term: rad

International System of Units
International System of Units

In the International System of Units, the derived unit of absorbed dose of radiation (radiation absorbed by a patient); one joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of the patient's mass. Symbol: Gy


depleted uranium

Uranium that contains a reduced (depleted) amount of the fissile isotope U-235 compared to natural uranium; it is used in applications where the nuclear properties of the uranium are not important, and the uranium is instead being used for its mechanical or chemical properties.


activity

en-noun

activity (countable and uncountable, plural activities)

From Middle French activité, from Latin activitas. Equivalent to active + -ity.

(physics) The number of radioactive decays per unit time. Unit for it: becquerel or curie


salt

en-verb

salt (third-person singular simple present salts, present participle salting, simple past and past participle salted)

salts (present singular third-person)
salting (participle present)
salted (participle past)
salted (past)

PIE word
 *séh₂ls
From Middle English salt, from Old English sealt, from Proto-West Germanic *salt, from Proto-Germanic *saltą, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₂ls (“salt”). Doublet of sal, ultimately from Latin sāl (“salt”), which it superseded as the general term for "salt".

The composition of the fallout can also be changed by "salting" the weapon to be detonated. This consists in the inclusion of significant quantities of certain elements, possibly enriched in specific isotopes, for the purpose of producing induced radioactivity. There are several reasons why a weapon might be salted.

1964, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, page 417:

To insert or inject something into an object to give it properties it would not naturally have.

(transitive) To add certain chemical elements to (a nuclear or conventional weapon) so that it generates more radiation.


PET

en-noun

PET (countable and uncountable, plural PETs)

The name of the computer (sense 4) derives from the 1970s pet rock fad; the acronym was invented afterwards.

(countable, genetics) Acronym of paired-end tag.


protactinium

A chemical element (symbol Pa) with atomic number 91: a dense, silvery-gray actinide metal.


berkelium

After Berkeley, California, because of discovery at UC Berkeley, + -ium.

A transuranic chemical element (symbol Bk) with an atomic number of 97.


americium

americium (usually uncountable, plural americiums)

/ˌæməˈɹɪsiəm/

From Americ(as) + -ium, by analogy with europium.

The chemical element (symbol Am) with an atomic number of 95.


thorium

thorium (usually uncountable, plural thoriums)

A chemical element (symbol Th) with atomic number 90: a weakly radioactive, malleable, moderately hard silvery metal that tarnishes black when exposed to air.


actinium

actinium (usually uncountable, plural actiniums)

Borrowed from French actinium. actin- + -ium.

A radioactive, metallic chemical element (symbol: Ac) with an atomic number of 89; found in uranium ores.


uranium

uranium (countable and uncountable, plural uraniums)

The element with atomic number 92 and symbol U: a radioactive silvery-grey metal in the actinide series.


nobelium

a transuranic chemical element (symbol No) with an atomic number of 102.


lawrencium

From Lawrence + -ium; named for Ernest Lawrence.

A transuranic chemical element (symbol Lr, formerly Lw) with atomic number 103.


californium

From California + -ium. The element was first synthesized at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (then the University of California Radiation Laboratory), thus named after the university and the U.S. state of California.

A strongly radioactive and highly fissile transuranic chemical element (symbol Cf) with an atomic number of 98.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
californium


curium

From Curie + -ium; named after Pierre and Marie Curie.

A highly fissile transuranic chemical element (symbol Cm) with an atomic number of 96.


plutonium

plutonium (usually uncountable, plural plutoniums)

After Pluto (the entity formerly considered to be a planet) + -ium.

For 75 years, it has fulfilled a wide range of roles: producing weapons-grade plutonium for early atomic weapons in the aftermath of the Second World War; the world's first commercial nuclear power station supplying electricity to the National Grid; reprocessing and storage of nuclear fuel; and the processing of lower grades of radioactive waste for off-site storage.

2023 December 27, Ben Jones, “Inside Sellafield... by rail”, in RAIL, number 999, page 20:

The transuranic chemical element with atomic number 94 and symbol Pu: a silvery-gray fissile radioactive actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air.


neptunium

From Neptune + -ium, after the planet. The previous element is uranium, named after the previous planet: Uranus.

The transuranic chemical element with atomic number 93 and symbol Np.


mendelevium

From Mendeleev + -ium; named after the scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, creator of the periodic table. The same name was proposed, but rejected, for the earlier-discovered elements berkelium and erbium.

(chemistry) A transuranic chemical element (symbol Md, formerly Mv) with atomic number 101.


fermium

From Fermi + -ium; named for Enrico Fermi.

A transuranic chemical element (symbol Fm) with an atomic number of 100.


einsteinium

From Einstein + -ium. Named after Albert Einstein.

Einsteinium, the 99th element of the periodic table, was discovered in the fallout of the first hydrogen bomb, detonated by the United States in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952.

2021 February 3, Becky Ferreira, “Scientists Just Studied a Dangerous Element Discovered in a 50s Nuke Test”, in VICE:

A transuranic chemical element (symbol Es) with atomic number 99: a soft, silvery, paramagnetic metal.


radium

radium (countable and uncountable, plural radiums)

Borrowed from French radium, from rad(ioactif) (“radioactive”) + -ium (suffix used to form the names of metallic elements).

suffix

Madame [Marie] Curie, working with her distinguished husband, isolated and first traced to its true origin the source of the marvellous power which has thus commenced to revolutionise our philosophy of physics. This new element has appropriately been named "Radium;" but it has also been shown that there are many other, though less powerful, radio-active elements, details of which are recorded in the sequel. To be precise, radium, per se, has not yet been isolated as a metal, but only in the form of salts,—chlorides and bromides. [...] It is supposed that the molecules of radium (composed of similar atoms) during their decomposition into those of the gas helium, are also frittered down into heat and, in part, are liberated as radio-activity.

1902, Ernest Howard Adye, “Radio-active Elements”, in Frank Rutley, Mineralogy (Murby’s “Science and Art Department” Series of Text-books), 15th revised and corrected edition, London: Thomas Murby & Co., […], →OCLC, page 234:

The persistence of radio-activity on glass vessels which have contained radium is remarkable. Filters, beakers, and dishes used in the laboratory for operations with radium, after having been washed in the usual way, remain radio-active: a piece of blende screen held inside the beaker or other vessel immediately glowing with the presence of radium.

1903 April 2, William Crookes, “The Emanations of Radium”, in Nature: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science, volume 67, number 1744, London: Macmillan and Co.; New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, pages 522–523:

The object of this work is to determine how the radiums D, E, and F are separated from the substance known as radio-lead by certain chemical reactions. Recrystallisation of the nitrate from a neutral solution gradually removes the radium-F (polonium), which remains in the mother liquor, but does not appreciably influence the amounts of radiums D and E in the crystals.

1908, E. H[orton], “General and Physical Chemistry. [Radio-lead. Belá Szilard.]”, in J. C. Cain, editor, Journal of the Chemical Society. Abstracts of Papers on Physical, Inorganic, Mineralogical, Physiological, Agricultural, and Analytical Chemistry, volume XCIV, part II, London: Gurney & Jackson, […], →OCLC, page 141:

Radium is formed by the breaking up of atoms of another element called uranium, but radium shows this breaking up process in its own atoms more distinctly than does uranium or any other element we know, and it is this breaking up that gives radium its astonishing properties such as the production of heat, electricity, and wave motions in the ether which are similar to the wave motions which produce the sensation of light to our eyes.

1919 December, Henriette Boeckmann, “Bringing the Stars to the People: It’s Easy to Get on Familiar Terms with Other Worlds at Clark Observatory”, in Waldemar Kaempffert, editor, Popular Science Monthly, volume 95, number 5, New York, N.Y.: Modern Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, page 206, column 1:

As for myself, I had to devote again a great deal of time to the preparation of several decigrammes of very pure radium chloride. With this I achieved, in 1907, a new determination of the atomic weight of radium, and in 1910 I was able to isolate the metal.

1923, Marie Curie, “Autobiographical Notes: Marie Curie”, in Charlotte Kellogg, Vernon Kellogg, transl., Pierre Curie, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, chapter II, page 197:

Of the total, fifteen cases were treated surgically, seventeen by radium, one by a combination of the two methods, three by radium and X-ray, one by the Percy cautery, two by the cautery, and two by the cautery preceding the application of radium.

1923 September, Dewell Gann, “The Review of Forty Consecutive Cases of Carcinoma of the Cervix”, in The Urologic and Cutaneous Review, volume XXVII, number 9, St. Louis, Mo.: Urologic and Cutaneous Press, →OCLC, page 564, column 1:

As soon as it had been shown that skin burns could be caused by radium, medical men began to experiment in order to find out if malignant growths of the skin could be destroyed by the same agency. [...] Immense strides have been made in the technique of applying the radium to kill cancers.

1936, Wyndham E. B. Lloyd, “Radium”, in A Hundred Years of Medicine, London: Duckworth […], published 1939, part II (Scientific Discovery in the Last Hundred Years), page 208:

Well, remember how the children of the State Orphanage became mysteriously ill? The doctors diagnosed it as radium poisoning, but how it happened was a first class mystery to them. There's no radium factory within miles of the orphanage.

1940 May–June, Charles Nicholas [pseudonym; Charles Nicholas Cuidera], “Mass Murder by Radioactive Salt”, in The Blue Beetle, number 2, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.: Fox Feature Syndicate, →OCLC, column 1:

The U.S. radium dial painters of the 1920s comprised an early cohort of several thousand workers at increased risk of developing radiation induced cancers.

2010, Charles L. Sanders, “Accidents, Tests, and Incidents”, in Radiation Hormesis and the Linear-No-Threshold Assumption, Heidelberg, Dordrecht: Springer-Verlag, →DOI, →ISBN, page 43:

Even as X-rays vied with radium as the preferred tool for biological experimentation in later decades, [Hermann Joseph] Muller continued to rely on radium not only as a mutagen, but also as an important conceptual tool, seeing radium and life as somehow intimately connected analogically, discursively, evolutionarily, mechanistically, and metaphysically.

2015, Luis A. Campos, “Transmutations and Disintegrations”, in Radium and the Secret of Life, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 247:

alkaline earth metal
alkaline earth metal

The chemical element (symbol Ra) with an atomic number of 88. It is a soft, shiny and silvery radioactive alkaline earth metal.

radium

chemical element with an atomic number of 88


becquerel

Borrowed from French becquerel. Named after the French physicist Henri Becquerel.

In the International System of Units, the derived unit of radioactive activity; the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. Symbol: Bq


nuclear

en-noun

nuclear (countable and uncountable, plural nuclears)

From Latin nū̆cleus, a contraction of the adjective nuculeus, masculine of feminine nuculea (“pertaining to a small nut”) from nucula + adjectival suffix -eus, -ea, -eum. The Latin nucula + -āris adds up to nuculāris, a term that in English becomes nucular; the Latin nuculea + -āris, becomes Latin nuculeāris (“relative to what pertains to small nut”), later contracted into nuclear. By surface analysis, nucle(us) + -ar = nucle- + -ar. Compare muscle and Latin mūsculus; muscular and mūsculāris.

cog

The growth in wind capacity at first lagged behind the expansion of nuclear installations, but then it started to grow faster and is now outpacing nuclear.

2015, Vital Signs Volume 22: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future, The Worldwatch Institute:


sievert

From Swedish Sievert. Named after the Swedish radiologist Rolf Sievert.

In the International System of Units, the derived unit of radiation dose; the dose received in one hour at a distance of 1 cm from a point source of 1 mg of radium in a 0.5 mm thick platinum enclosure. Symbol: Sv


radiologist

A person who is skilled in or practices radiology.

طَبِيب أَشِعَّة

ṭabīb ʔašiʕʕa


monitoring

en-noun

monitoring (usually uncountable, plural monitorings)

NR is already 'on the case' here - its man in Inverness was trained some time ago (at his request, incidentally - good man!) in drone monitoring, which enables much longer aerial patrols than are possible on foot.

2020 August 26, Nigel Harris, “Comment Special: Catastrophe at Carmont”, in Rail, page 4:

The carrying out of surveillance on, or continuous or regular observation of, an environment or people in order to detect signals, movements or changes of state or quality.

monitorització

Surveillance or continuous or regular observation


curious

en-adj

curious (comparative more curious or curiouser, superlative most curious or curiousest)

more curious (comparative)
curiouser (comparative)
most curious (superlative)
curiousest (superlative)

From Middle English curious, from Old French curius, from Latin cūriōsus. The English word is cognate with Italian curioso, Occitan curios, Portuguese curioso, and Spanish curioso.

It's not what I'm used to / Just wanna try you on / I'm curious for you / Caught my attention

2008 April 28, Katy Perry, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Cathy Dennis, “I Kissed a Girl”, in One of the Boys, performed by Katy Perry:


rad

Coordinate term: gray

(metrology) A non-SI unit of absorbed dose of radiation, equal to 0.01 gray.


fertile

fertile (comparative more fertile, superlative most fertile)

more fertile (comparative)
most fertile (superlative)

From Middle English, from Middle French fertile, from Old French fertile, from Latin fertilis (“fruitful, fertile”), from ferō (“I bear, carry”).

There are two basic fertile materials: uranium-238 and thorium-232.

(physics) Not itself fissile, but able to be converted into a fissile material by irradiation in a reactor.


nuke

Clipping of nuclear weapon. The verb is derived from the noun.

(colloquial) vessel running on nuclear power

Confronted with the threat of several nukes on the island, we soon realized that the Long Island Sound is being used as a massive cooling basin for nuclear reactors.

1979, Anna Gyorgy et al., “Atomic Power, Nuclear Plants”, in No Nukes: Everyone’s Guide to Nuclear Power (Black Rose Books; no. I.49), Montreal, Que.: Black Rose Books, →ISBN, page 406:

Nukes Don't Pollute

2002, Home Power - Issues 86-91, page 121:

He calculates that nukes might be needed to power energy-intensive “large scale co2 sequestration techniques” as well.

2010, Andrew Nikiforuk, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent, page 155:

We've analyzed employee manifests at all nukes, LNG, and refineries in the United States for Middle Eastern profile matches.

nuclear power station
nuclear power station


background radiation

en-noun

background radiation (usually uncountable, plural background radiations)

ionizing radiation that is naturally present in the environment.


radiation

radiation (countable and uncountable, plural radiations)

/ˌɹæɪ.diˈæɪ.ʃən/

Borrowed from Latin radiatio, radiationis. By surface analysis, radiate + -ion.

It's Christmas at ground zero / And if the radiation level's OK / I'll go out with you / To see all the new / Mutations on New Year's Day

1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic (lyrics and music), “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party!:


decay

en-verb

decay (third-person singular simple present decays, present participle decaying, simple past and past participle decayed)

decays (present singular third-person)
decaying (participle present)
decayed (participle past)
decayed (past)

From Middle English decayen, dekeyen (“to decrease, diminish”), from Anglo-Norman decaeir (“to fall away, decay, decline”), from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, etymologically restored form of Latin dēcidere (“to fall away, fail, sink, perish”), from de (“down”) + cadere (“to fall”). Compare decadent and decadence.

der

Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.

2005, Encyclopedia of Earth Science, edited by Timothy M. Kusky, →ISBN, page 349:

(intransitive, transitive, physics, chemistry, of an unstable atom) To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons; to undergo radioactive decay.

desintegrar-se

To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons.


isomer

(nuclear physics) Any of two or more atomic nuclei with the same mass number and atomic number but with different radioactive properties.


uranyl

en-noun

uranyl (countable and uncountable, plural uranyls)

(chemistry) The divalent radical UO₂²⁺, conveniently regarded as a residue of many uranium compounds.


disintegration

disintegration (countable and uncountable, plural disintegrations)

/dɪsˌɪd.əˈɡɹeɪ.ʃən/

[dɪsˌɪn.əˈɡɹeɪ.ʃən]

From disintegrate + -ion or dis- + integration.

(nuclear physics) The process of radioactive decay.

The sample exhibited an activity of three disintegrations per second.

The process of radioactive decay.
The radioactive decay of a single atom.


emanation

emanation (countable and uncountable, plural emanations)

/ˌɛməˈneɪʃən/

(uncountable, obsolete) (physics, chemistry) The element radon (Rn)


irradiation

irradiation (countable and uncountable, plural irradiations)

/ɪˌɹeɪdiˈeɪʃən/

From Middle French irradiacion, from Latin irradiatio
Morphologically irradiate + -ion

تَشَعُّع

an act of irradiating, or state of being irradiated

en:any act of irradiating or state produced therewith

An act of irradiating, or state of being irradiated.

(uncountable) a process of sterilization whereby radiation is passed through a bag containing food, utensils, etc., to sterilize the contents.


radiophobia

Apparently, I have radiophobia. Radiophobia is when you come to Chernobyl, people think that they get a sore throat or their eyes water or they have diarrhea, and it's not because the actual radiation is infecting you with cancer, but cause you think- you're afraid. It's all psychosomatic.

2012 July 19, Shane Smith, 3:25 from the start, in Hunting the Radioactive Beasts of Chernobyl, Vice Media:


plutonic

(inorganic chemistry) Containing plutonium in a higher oxidation state.


SF

SF (countable and uncountable, plural SFs)

→ Japanese: エスエフ, SF (SF)

spontaneous fission
spontaneous fission#English


meltdown

meltdown (countable and uncountable, plural meltdowns)

→ Japanese: メルトダウン (merutodaun)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-meltdown.wav

Four years have passed since the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, but the grim legacy of the Soviet catastrophe is still unfolding. https://web.archive.org/web/20041130094534/http://www.time.com/time/daily/chernobyl/chernobyl.index.html

Severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor resulting in the core melting and potentially in radiation escaping.

اِنْصِهَار نَوَوِيّ

severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor

razrušénije aktívnoj zony jádernovo reáktora

разруше́ние акти́вной зоны я́дерного реа́ктора


pitchblende

pitchblende (countable and uncountable, plural pitchblendes)

From German Pechblende, from Pech (“pitch”) + Blende (“blende”).

Working in Paris in 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie processed thousands of pounds of pitchblende from the same glass-factory tailings in order to isolate two radioactive elements that had hitherto been unknown: radium and polonium.

2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 205:

(mineralogy) Naturally-occurring uranium oxide, a variety of the mineral uraninite.


uranite

uranite (countable and uncountable, plural uranites)

A dark, lustrous, heavy mineral, a source of uranium and radium.


alpha particle

(physics) A doubly positively charged nucleus of a helium-4 atom (consisting of two protons and two neutrons), emitted as a consequence of radioactivity; α-particle


gamma ray

electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic radiation

Very high frequency (and therefore very high energy) electromagnetic radiation emitted as a consequence of radioactivity.

raig gamma

very high frequency electromagnetic radiation


tritium

tritium (countable and uncountable, plural tritiums)

From trito- + -ium. From Ancient Greek τρίτος (trítos, “third”).

(physics) A radioactive isotope of the element hydrogen (symbol T, ³H or ³₁H) having one proton and two neutrons.


radioactivity

radioactivity (usually uncountable, plural radioactivities)

Spontaneous emission of ionizing radiation as a consequence of a nuclear reaction, or directly from the breakdown of an unstable nucleus.

The radiation so emitted; including gamma rays, alpha particles, neutrons, electrons, positrons, etc.


half-life

semivida

chemistry: time required for concentration to fall to half

(physics) The time required for half the nuclei in a sample of an isotope to undergo radioactive decay.


unstable

en-adj

unstable (comparative more unstable, superlative most unstable)

more unstable (comparative)
most unstable (superlative)

From Middle English unstable; equivalent to un- + stable.

tottering

not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over

emotionally unstable personality disorder

(physics) Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.


radioactive

radioactive (comparative more radioactive, superlative most radioactive)

more radioactive (comparative)
most radioactive (superlative)

Coined by Pierre Curie and Marie Curie in 1898 as French radio-actif, equivalent to English radio- + active.

As a matter of fact many of our best drinking waters have all sorts of unspecified qualities. Burton water, for example, is radioactive by Beetham's standards up to the ninth degree.

1917, H. G. Wells, “The First Vision”, in The Soul of a Bishop:


axis of evil

2002 State of the Union Address
George W. Bush
axis of evil

Coined by American political commentator David Frum in 2002 and first used publicly by President George W. Bush in the 2002 State of the Union Address. Possibly from a historical analogy to the German-Italian-Japanese axis. Extended to astrophysics by Portuguese scientist João Magueijo in 2005.

coin

cosmic microwave background
cosmic microwave background

(astrophysics, cosmology) An anomaly in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background as the result of a preferential axis which may have shaped the development of the universe, sometimes abbreviated AOE.


extinct

PIE word
 *h₁eǵʰs
From Late Middle English extinct (“eliminated, eradicated, extinguished”), from Latin extīnctus, exstīnctus (“extinguished, quenched; destroyed, killed; made extinct”), the perfect passive participles of extinguō, exstinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench; (figurative) to abolish; to destroy, kill”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + stinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench”) (from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push”)). The Middle English word displaced Middle English aqueint, aquenched (“extinct; extinguished”). Doublet of extinguish.

der

(nuclear physics) Of a radioisotope: no longer occurring primordially due to having decayed away completely, because it has a relatively short half-life.

hävinnyt

of a radioisotope: no longer occurring primordially due to having decayed away completely


rem

Abbreviation of Roentgen equivalent in man.

abbreviation of

A dose of absorbed radiation equivalent to one roentgen of X-rays or gamma rays.


chain reaction

The Manhattan Project produced the first recorded controlled chain reaction.

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which particles produced by the fission of one atom trigger fissions of other atoms.


scram

en-verb

scram (third-person singular simple present scrams, present participle scraming or scramming, simple past and past participle scramed or scrammed)

scrams (present singular third-person)
scraming (participle present)
scramming (participle present)
scramed (participle past)
scramed (past)
scrammed (participle past)
scrammed (past)
nuclear physics

Uncertain; the verb is possibly derived from etymology 1. It has been suggested that the word is an acronym for phrases like “safety control rod actuator mechanism”, “safety cut rope axe man”, “safety control rod axe man”, and “safety control rods activation mechanism”, but these are most likely backronyms.
The noun is probably derived from the verb.

The NCR [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] further demands the plant conform to all the safety requirements put into effect during construction. This means constant re-design. There must also be several ways to scram (emergency shut down) the reactor. Some of these are automatic and some are manual.

1976 December, Randy Warsaw, “Fermi II – A Plant Tour”, in Ray Barry, editor, The Michigan Technic, volume XCV, number 3, [Ann Arbor, Mich.]: College of Engineering, University of Michigan, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 15:

Startup of reactor recirculating pump resulted in flux spike scraming plant.

1978, “Appendix II—Answers to Written Questions Posed to Nuclear Regulatory Commission before the Hearings”, in Nuclear Regulatory Commission Authorization Requests: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, Second Session, on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Requests for an Increased Authorization for Fiscal Year 1978 and for a Fiscal Year 1979 Authorization of $330,000,000: […] (Serial No. 95-161), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 794:

The slightest problem in a reactor will cause the control rods to plunge automatically in the uranium core at high speeds (this is called scramming the reactor) and stop the chain reaction.

1983, Michio Kaku, Jennifer Trainer, editors, Nuclear Power, Both Sides: The Best Arguments for and against the Most Controversial Technology, New York, N.Y.: W[illiam] W[arder] Norton, →ISBN, page 22:

Both active and manual methods scram by tripping power to a dedicated pump that unbalances the flows to the^([sic]) passively scram the reactor.

2000, Ralph R. Fullwood, “Analyzing Nuclear Reactor Safety Systems”, in Probabilistic Safety Assessment in the Chemical and Nuclear Industries, Boston, Mass.: Butterworth-Heinemann, →ISBN, section 6.1.4.3 (ABB PIUS), page 218:

The reactor was then "scramed", but the control rods did not slide back into the reactor.

2007 June 22, Samuel Upton Newtan, “Nuclear Reactor Disasters: Part I: Stationary Reactors (Non-breeders)”, in Nuclear War I and Other Major Nuclear Disasters of the 20th Century, Bloomington, Ind., Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 113:

Raising group eight rods and brining a nuclear reactor fully to life for the first time in nearly ten years—everyone was so ready they were all ready to pee in their pants. Andrews did not know he could do it without SCRAMing the reactor—in other words, pushing it into an automatic shutdown that might be too little too late.

2012 December 12, D. Michael Battey, chapter 35, in Tenacity Gene, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 174:

(transitive) To shut down (a nuclear reactor or, by extension, some other thing) for safety reasons, usually because of an emergency.


isomerism

en-noun

isomerism (countable and uncountable, plural isomerisms)

(physical chemistry) the phenomenon of the existence of isomers - the existence of different substances with the same molecular formulae

(chemistry) the interconversion of isomers

(nuclear physics) nuclear isomerism, the phenomenon of the existence of nuclear isomers.


beta particle

(physics) An energetic electron or positron produced as the result of a nuclear reaction or nuclear decay.


nuclear reaction

nuclear reaction (plural nuclear reactions)

A process such as the fission of an atomic nucleus, or the fusion of one or more atomic nuclei and/or subatomic particles in which the number of protons and/or neutrons in a nucleus changes; the reaction products may contain a different element or a different isotope of the same element.


transactinide

(chemistry, physics) Lying beyond lawrencium (the last actinide) in the periodic table; having an atomic number greater than 103.


transuranic

Of an element: lying beyond uranium in the periodic table; having an atomic number greater than 92.

transurànic

element with atomic number greater than 92


actinide

(chemistry) Any of the 15 radioactive elements of the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium that are positioned under the lanthanides, to which they have similar chemistry.

(chemistry) Any of the 14 elements from actinium to nobelium (lawrencium is excluded by some authors as it is a d-block rather than an f-block element).

(chemistry) (dated) Any of the 14 elements from thorium to lawrencium (actinium having been mistakenly excluded because it was thought to be a d-block element in the past).


dirty bomb

Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a “dirty bomb” – conventional explosives laced with radioactive material.

2022 October 24, Peter Beaumont, “Ukraine war heading for ‘uncontrolled escalation’, says Russia”, in The Guardian:

A device containing conventional explosives and radioactive material, designed to spread radiation over a wide area.

قُنْبُلَة قَذِرَة

A nuclear bomb that spreads radiation over a wide area due to inefficiency or by design.

бру́дная бо́мба

nuclear bomb that speads radiation over a wide area due to inefficiency or design


enriched uranium

(chemistry, military) Uranium enriched with a higher than normal amount of the fissile isotope U-235; used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.

verrykte uraan

uranium enriched with a higher amount of U-235


dosimeter

Dosimeters normally take the form of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), photographic film, thermoluminescent devices (TLD) or electronic personal dosimeters (PDM).

A device used to measure a dose of ionizing radiation.


ionizing radiation

ionizing radiation (countable and uncountable, plural ionizing radiations)

(physics) High-energy radiation that is capable of causing ionization in substances through which it passes; also includes high-energy particles.

ioniserende straling

high-energy radiation that is capable of causing ionization in substances


urania

(mineralogy) Any of several impure mixtures of uranium oxides.


corium

(anatomy) The deep layer of mucous membranes beneath the epithelium.

Passing by the Corium Bubulum of the Classical Ancients, we see in an old charter, dated 1036, "Stallus Sutoris Vaccæ," i. e. the stall of a shoe-maker who used cow-skin.

1825, Thomas Dudley Fosbroke, Encyclopaedia of antiquities, and elements of archaeology, classical and mediæval:

(historical) Armour made of leather, particularly that used by the Romans.


corium

From core + -ium. Apparently coined in 1974 by Martin Peehs, a German nuclear engineer.

1974, Martin Peehs, “Investigations of molten "corium" phases”, in Thermodynamics of Nuclear Materials, volume 1, Vienna: International Atomic Agency IAEA-SM-190/10:

Mexico was given $100,000 to do a series of experiments in which small amounts (10 to 20 grams) of stainless steel and corium (a mixture of 55 percent iron, 10 percent zirconium, and 35 percent uranium dioxide) will be melted and then flooded with water in an arc-melting chamber.

1975 21 October, Hearings on the Nuclear Initiative: Technological Concerns in Nuclear Reactor Safety, Sacramento (CA): California Legislature Assembly Committee on Resources, Land Use, and Energy:

Previous studies of the thermal behavior of corium in a degraded nuclear reactor have focussed primarily on the process of heat transfer within the corium.

1991, Sheau-Wen Shiah, Fan-bill B. Cheung, Dae-Ho Cho, Michael J. Tan, Louis Baker Jr., “Numerical Modeling of Corium/Steel Structure Interaction with Downfacing Boiling Boundary Conditions”, in Chung, Franklin, Hochreiter, Larry E., editors, Numerical Modelling of Basic Heat Transfer Phenomena in Nuclear Systems, presented at the 28th National Heat Transfer Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 28-31, 1991, New York (NY): American Society of Mechanical Engineers, page 31:

2009, Wei Wei, Xing-rong Cao, “The Simulation of Corium Dispersion in Direct Containment Heating Accidents”, in Zero Carbon Energy Kyoto 2009:

The materials of the nuclear reactor—nuclear oxide fuel and fission products, cladding, metallic alloys, moderator, absorbers, structural materials, coolants, concrete, and so on, could melt to form complex, multiphases, and aggressive mixtures known by the general term corium.

2011, Pascal Piluso, “Appendix 1: Corium Thermodynamics and Thermophysics, 2. Corium Thermophysics”, in Bal Raj Seghal, editor, Nuclear Safety in Light Water Reactors: Severe Accident Phenomenology, Waltham (MA): Academic Press, →ISBN, page 664:

CORIUM: INIS: 1977-10-17; ETDE: 1977-06-02 Molten mixture of fuel, cladding and other core structural material resulting from a meltdown accident.

2019 October, INIS [International Nuclear Information System] Thesaurus, Multilingual version, IAEA-INIS Reference Series IAEA-INIS-01 (2019/10), Vienna: IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], →ISSN, page 264:

(nuclear physics) A lavalike mixture of fissile material created in a nuclear reactor's core during a nuclear meltdown.


DPS

DPS (countable and uncountable, plural DPSs)

(nuclear physics) Initialism of disintegration per second.


EC

EC (countable and uncountable, plural ECs)

electron capture
electron capture#English


NRC

Nuclear Regulatory Commission
w:Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(US) Initialism of Nuclear Regulatory Commission.


SPECT

computed tomography
computed tomography#English

Acronym of single-photon emission computed tomography.

Single-photon emission computed tomography


roentgen

/ˈɹɜːnt.ɡən/


curie

Borrowed from French curie. Named after French physicist Pierre Curie (1859–1906).

named-after

3.7×10¹⁰ decays per second, as a unit of radioactivity. Symbol Ci.


curate

(inorganic chemistry) An oxyanion of curium; any salt containing such an anion.


röntgen

/ˈɹɜːnt.ɡən/

(physics) a unit of exposure to ionizing radiation


nuclear bomb

In the seaside town that they forgot to bomb / Come, come, come, nuclear bomb

1988, Morrissey (lyrics and music), “Everyday Is Like Sunday”, in Viva Hate:

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki


nuclear weapon

When Kissinger went to Moscow on March 24 for four days of talks aimed at setting the agenda for Summit III, he reported that Brezhnev seemed to be confronting some of the same problems as we were of military opposition to a permanent agreement to limit offensive nuclear weapons. Thus we knew from the outset that it would be very difficult to produce a major SALT breakthrough at Summit III.

1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1973-1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1024:

Even if they managed to strike Japan, the United States or South Korea with nuclear weapons — a big if, given that they do not have a reliable delivery system — they could not save themselves from ultimate defeat.

2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times:

A weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion.

armë bërthamore

a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion


nuclear magnetic resonance

en-noun

nuclear magnetic resonance (uncountable)

magnetic resonance imaging
magnetic resonance imaging

(nuclear physics) The absorption of electromagnetic radiation (radio waves), at a specific frequency, by an atomic nucleus placed in a strong magnetic field; used in spectroscopy and in magnetic resonance imaging.

核磁共振

absorption of electromagnetic radiation by an atomic nucleus placed in a strong magnetic field


radiochemistry

(chemistry) the chemistry of radioactive substances


radioisotope

(physics) a radioactive isotope of an element


critical mass

critical mass (countable and uncountable, plural critical masses)

[…] Rhodes calculated the uranium bomb would eventually need “about 42 kilograms – 92.6 pounds,” which Rhodes then stated was approximately 2.8 critical masses. In other words, critical mass can be calculated to be about 15 kilograms.

2016, Carter Hydrick, Critical Mass […] , 3rd edition, TrineDay, →ISBN:

(nuclear physics) The minimum amount of fissile material needed to support a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

tolz eizik

the minimum amount of fissile material needed to a nuclear chain reaction


nuclear fission

nuclear fission (usually uncountable, plural nuclear fissions)

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which a large nucleus splits into smaller ones, sometimes accompanied by the simultaneous release of energy.


enrichment

enrichment (countable and uncountable, plural enrichments)


enrich

en-verb

enrich (third-person singular simple present enriches, present participle enriching, simple past and past participle enriched)

enriches (present singular third-person)
enriching (participle present)
enriched (participle past)
enriched (past)

From Middle English enrichen, from Anglo-Norman enrichir and Old French enrichier.

(physics, transitive) To increase the amount of one isotope in a mixture of isotopes, especially in a nuclear fuel. [from 20th c.]

verryk

to increase the amount of one isotope in a mixture of isotopes


short-lived

en-adj

short-lived (comparative shorter-lived, superlative shortest-lived)

shorter-lived (comparative)
shortest-lived (superlative)

From short + lived (“having a life, lifed”), equivalent to short + life + -ed. Compare Middle English short-livi, sort-levi (“short-lived”).

Of a radioisotope (or by extension radioelement): having a short half-life.


spinthariscope

From Ancient Greek σπινθαρίς (spintharís, “spark”) + -scope.

der

(historical) An early device for observing individual nuclear disintegrations.


fission

en-noun

fission (countable and uncountable, plural fissions)

Borrowed from Latin fissiōnem, accusative singular of fissiō (“the act of breaking up”), from findō (“split, divide”).

(nuclear physics) Short for nuclear fission: The process of splitting the nucleus of an atom into smaller particles.


alpha emitter

(physics) a radioactive substance that decays by emitting alpha particles


beta emitter

A radioactive substance emitting beta particles.


radioscopy

examination of objects by the use of X-rays; radiology


radiation poisoning

radiation poisoning (usually uncountable, plural radiation poisonings)

radiation sickness
radiation sickness#English


radiation sickness

radiation sickness (countable and uncountable, plural radiation sicknesses)

(medicine, pathology) Any illness produced by ionizing radiation with symptoms ranging from nausea to death.


absorbed dose

(physics) The amount of energy imparted by nuclear (or ionizing) radiation to unit mass of absorbing material. Units of measure include the gray, the rad, and their derivatives (e.g., centigray, millirad).

geabsorbeerde dosis

amount of energy imparted by nuclear radiation

gray

the SI unit of measurement of this phenomenon


glove box

There's a map in the glovebox.

So I went for the shotgun in the Hilux, but could only find one rat-shot shell in the glove box.

2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 25:

(automotive) A small compartment with a door on the dashboard of a car, usually on passenger side, used to store (and sometimes lock) items.

A plastic box or similar enclosure containing a controlled environment, with rubber gloves fastened around holes in the front of the box through which a person can manipulate things in the box without introducing outside contamination; an isolator.

hansikaskaappi

plastic box with rubber gloves fastened around holes


radiology

(medicine) The specialty of medical imaging and its interpretation, originally and especially radiography but now including all imaging modalities, including ones that use no radiation (such as ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging).


fallout

fallout (countable and uncountable, plural fallouts)

It was 5 February 2010 and Safdar had already dealt with the fallout of one explosion that day: an hour before, a motorbike laden with explosives had slammed into a bus carrying Shia Muslims to a religious procession.

2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian:

The event of small airborne particles falling to the ground in significant quantities as a result of major industrial activity, volcano eruption, sandstorm, nuclear explosion, etc.

uitval

event of airborne particles falling to the ground


uranium nitride

uranium nitride (plural uranium nitrides)

(chemistry) an insoluble binary compound or uranium and nitrogen, (UN)ₙ, used as fuel rods in nuclear reactors


primordial

From the Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Compare primordium and -al.

Of an element or isotope: occurring primordially (on Earth) (i.e. inherited from when the Earth was formed); because it is stable, or radioactive but so long-lived that some is left over from when the Earth was formed. For example, primordial radioisotopes (T = half-life in years) include uranium-235 (T = 7×10⁸), potassium-40 (T = 1.25×10⁹), uranium-238 (T = 4.5×10⁹), and thorium-232 (T = 1.4×10¹⁰).


hot spot

пизэке

place notable for a high level of activity or danger

A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas.

(nuclear physics) An area of high radioactive contamination.


thoric

(inorganic chemistry) relating to, or containing thorium


radiogenetics

The study of the genetic effects of radiation.


radiohalo

A microscopic spherical disturbance in a rock caused by a grain of radioactive material.


radiferous

containing radium (or other material used for radiotherapy)

(chemistry) constituting radium (esp. barium salts)


radon seed

A small glass or gold tube, containing radon gas, implanted in a patient as radiotherapy.


radioassay

An assay of an ore or some other radioactive sample to determine the intensity of its radiation.


radioluminescence

radioluminescence (usually uncountable, plural radioluminescences)

luminescence produced by bombardment with ionizing radiation


kerma

kerma (countable and uncountable, plural kermas)

Acronym for kinetic energy released in matter.

(physics) The sum of the initial kinetic energies of all the charged particles liberated by uncharged ionizing radiation (neutrons and photons) in a sample of matter, divided by the mass of the sample.


radioprotector

(chemistry) A substance, such as potassium iodide, that provides some protection against the harmful effects of radiation.


radiocarbon

A radioactive isotope of carbon, especially ¹⁴₆C


radiocarbon dating

radiocarbon dating (usually uncountable, plural radiocarbon datings)

(physics, archaeology, paleontology) A method of estimating the age of an artifact or biological vestige based on the relative amounts of the different isotopes of carbon present in a sample.


radiosterilization

(medicine) The sterilization (either of an organism, or a surgical implement) by ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays.


(physics) The radioactive isotope of strontium, ⁹⁰₃₈Sr, that is present in the fallout from nuclear explosions and, being chemically similar to calcium, accumulates in the bones

стронций-90

стронций-девяносто


rainout

rainout (countable and uncountable, plural rainouts)

(uncountable) Nuclear fallout deposited by means of rain.


atomic pile

From the fact that the first nuclear reactor, at the University of Chicago in 1942-1943, was literally constituted by a tall pile (heap) of graphite moderator blocks. Compare also charcoal pile, a traditional improvised kiln used in charcoal making, which uses a similar basic design to contain a volatile process. The fact that English pile also is related to French pile (“battery”) (with senses of a collection of components and a power source, often both coinstantiated) has also been noted as an interesting nexus of word roots and semantic themes.

1948 The second atomic pile at the Government's research establishment at Harwell […] is expected to be brought into use this summer – The Times (London), May 11 1948, pg 2 col A

(nuclear physics) An early nuclear reactor fueled by uranium and moderated with graphite.

mile

an early nuclear reactor fueled by uranium and moderated with graphite

nuclear stockpile

semantically quite different from a nuclear pile


nuclear reactor

nuclear reactor (plural nuclear reactors)

Some newspapers in the United States, in Japan, and in South Korea printed photographs of North Korean nuclear reactors and nuclear plants, photos that were said to have been taken by U.S. military satellites. Most of the exposures were from a nuclear research establishment at Ninghian Chun in Pingan Beidao, only 80 km from Pyongyang.

1993 August 9 [1993 April 8], Zhongqing Tian, “Change in Overall Situation on the Korean Peninsula”, in JPRS Report China, number 93-057, United States Joint Publications Research Service, →OCLC, page 7, column 2:

(physics) Any device in which a controlled chain reaction is maintained for the purpose of creating heat (for power generation) or for creating neutrons and other fission products for experimental, medical or other purposes.


astatane

(inorganic chemistry) astatine hydride or hydrogen astatide, HAt.


polane

(chemistry) polonium hydride, PoH₂ or H₂Po


helium dating

(archaeology) a method of determining the age of rock that depends on the production of helium during the decay of various radioactive isotopes of uranium and thorium.


atomic battery

atomic battery (plural atomic batteries)

(physics) any device that converts the energy of particles emitted from atomic nuclei into electrical energy


nuclear battery

nuclear battery (plural nuclear batteries)

(physics) Any device that converts the energy of particles emitted from atomic nuclei into electrical energy.


nuclear chemistry

(chemistry) The application of chemical techniques to the solution of problems in nuclear physics, including the discovery of naturally occurring and synthetic radioactive elements and the results of nuclear fission.


organoactinide

organometallic compound
organometallic compound

(chemistry) any organometallic compound of an actinide, especially one having an unusually high coordination number


uranous

(chemistry) Containing uranium in lower valences than uranic compounds.


uranic

(chemistry) Containing uranium in higher valences than uranous compounds.

From many other places in the classics the impression may be won that Uranic love attained a higher position even than her sister. More recent explanations of the homosexual instinct have emanated from philosophers, psychologists and natural scientists.

1894, Richard Krafft-Ebing (trans F. J. Rebman), Psychopathia Sexualis, page 341

The patriotic assassination that so glorified Harmodios and Aristogeiton was in a vengeance for what was a homosexual marriage, we may say, between the two youths—whose uranic love was so virilized.

1908, Edward Prime-Stevenson, The Intersexes A History of Similisexualism as a Problem in Social Life, page 189:

But the fact was that ever since Frederick the Great had forbidden women to his Praetorian Guard in the 1750s, obliging the guards to seek the company of boys for their pleasure, Berlin had been identified with soldierly inversion and uranic sexuality. Paragraph 175 of the Federal Criminal Code still forbade all homosexual activity but there were so many male prostitutes in Berlin […] that the law was more or less unenforceable.

(rare, historical) Of, related to, or characteristic of male same-sex erotic desire and relationships; homosexual.


long-lived

en-adj

long-lived (comparative more long-lived, superlative most long-lived)

more long-lived (comparative)
most long-lived (superlative)

From Middle English long-lifed, equivalent to long + life + -ed.

Of a radioisotope: having a long half-life


brachytherapy

en-noun

brachytherapy (countable and uncountable, plural brachytherapies)

From Ancient Greek βραχύς (brakhús, “short, not far off”) + θεραπεία (therapeía, “attendance, treatment, healing, service”); brachy- + therapy.

der

Coordinate term: teletherapy

Radiotherapy using radioactive sources positioned within (or close to) the treatment volume, typically with radiopharmaceuticals as opposed to external-beam sources.


teletherapy

en-noun

teletherapy (countable and uncountable, plural teletherapies)

From tele- + therapy; formed circa the 1940s.

Coordinate term: brachytherapy

Radiotherapy using a source of ionizing radiation at some distance from the patient, typically tens of centimetres.


(physics) a radioactive isotopes of carbon, ¹⁴₆C, having six protons and eight neutrons; it is used in radiocarbon dating


carbon dating

carbon dating (countable and uncountable, plural carbon datings)


pleochroic halo

pleochroic halo (plural pleochroic halos or pleochroic haloes)

pleochroic halos (plural)
pleochroic haloes (plural)

(geology) A microscopic spherical region in which there is a change in color from the surrounding mineral; due to radiation damage from alpha particles.


uranium hexafluoride

uranium hexafluoride (plural uranium hexafluorides)

(chemistry) a binary compound of uranium and fluorine, UF₆; it is a grey solid, or heavy gas, and is used in the uranium enrichment process to produce fuel for nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons

किरणातु षटतरस्विनेय

binary compound of uranium and fluorine, UF6


weapons-grade

For 75 years, it has fulfilled a wide range of roles: producing weapons-grade plutonium for early atomic weapons in the aftermath of the Second World War; the world's first commercial nuclear power station supplying electricity to the National Grid; reprocessing and storage of nuclear fuel; and the processing of lower grades of radioactive waste for off-site storage.

2023 December 27, Ben Jones, “Inside Sellafield... by rail”, in RAIL, number 999, page 20:

(of a radioactive or other substance) Of a purity suitable for the manufacture of weapons.


actinobiology

The study of the effects of radiation upon living organisms.


irradiate

en-verb

irradiate (third-person singular simple present irradiates, present participle irradiating, simple past and past participle irradiated)

irradiates (present singular third-person)
irradiating (participle present)
irradiated (participle past)
irradiated (past)
irradiate (infinitive)

/ɪˈɹeɪdɪeɪt/

The verb is a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin irradiātus + English -ate (suffix forming verbs denoting ‘to act in the specified manner’). Irradiātus is the perfect passive participle of irradiō, from Latin ir- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘against; into; on, upon’)) + radiō (“to cause to radiate, irradiate; to emit beams, radiate”) (from radius (“ray of light; rod, staff; spoke of a wheel”) (further etymology uncertain; possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁t- (“beam; pole; post”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English irradiate (“illuminated, shining”), borrowed from Medieval Latin irradiātus (see above) + Middle English -at (suffix forming past participles of verbs). The adjective is attested earlier than the verb.
The English word is analysable as ir- (prefix meaning ‘against; into; on, upon’) + radiate.

облъчвам

to apply radiation other than visible light to (someone or something); to treat (food) with ionizing radiation to destroy pathogens; to treat (a patient, or a cancerous growth or tumour) with radiation

To send out (heat, light, or some other form of radiation) in the form of rays; to radiate.

An inherent protection in labeling of the shipping containers will be the prevention of irradiating the commodity again, insuring that the produce has been treated within the safety limits established by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration].

1985 November 18, J. Richard Graves, jr., witness, “Statement of J. Richard Graves, jr., Chairman, Government Relations Committee, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association”, in Federal Food Irradiation Development and Control Act of 1985: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-Ninth Congress, First Session on H.R. 696 […] (Serial No. 99-14), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1986, →OCLC, page 100:

(technology) To apply radiation other than visible light to (someone or something).

To treat (food) with ionizing radiation to destroy pathogens.

(medicine) To treat (a patient, or a cancerous growth or tumour) with radiation.


Hawking radiation

Named from the English physicist Stephen Hawking.

The radiation presumed to be given off by a black hole by quantum mechanical processes.


radiation damage

en-noun

radiation damage (countable and uncountable, plural radiation damages)

(physics, chemistry) Harmful changes in the properties of materials caused by interactions with ionizing radiation.


radiation shielding

physical barriers designed to provide protection from the effects of ionizing radiation, including radioactive material


radiation hardening

(physics, chemistry) The protection of semiconductor devices from the effects of ionizing radiation.


radiation therapy

(medicine) The use of ionizing radiation to treat disease, especially cancer.


radiation biology

(physics, biology) The study of the effect of ionizing and nonionizing radiation on biological systems.


radioecology

the study of the fate and effects of radioactive materials in the environment


radioactive fallout

radioactive fallout (countable and uncountable, plural radioactive fallouts)


radioactive tracer

radioactive tracer (plural radioactive tracers)

(physics, chemistry, medicine) A radioactive isotope which, when injected into a chemically similar substance, or artificially attached to a biological or physical system, can be traced by radiation detection devices.


CMB

CMB (countable and uncountable, plural CMBs)

Cosmic microwave background
cosmic microwave background#English

(uncountable, initialism) Cosmic microwave background.


mache

From German Mache, surname of Heinrich Mache.

(dated) A former unit of volumic radioactivity: the quantity of radon (ignoring its daughters) per litre of air which ionizes a sustained current of 0.001 esu.


carbon-date

en-verb

carbon-date (third-person singular simple present carbon-dates, present participle carbon-dating, simple past and past participle carbon-dated)

carbon-dates (present singular third-person)
carbon-dating (participle present)
carbon-dated (participle past)
carbon-dated (past)

After carbon-dating the artifact, the archaeologist determined that it was of late bronze age manufacture.

(transitive) To gauge the age of (an organic material) by comparing the ratio of carbon isotopes.


Faded Giant

(US, euphemistic, military) A reporting term to identify an event involving a nuclear reactor or radiological accident.


sunburn

en-noun

sunburn (countable and uncountable, plural sunburns)

From Middle English *sunne burnen, *sonne brennen, *sunne brennen (suggested by derivatives sonne brennynge, sunne brennynge (“sunburn”, literally “sun-burning”) and sunne brente (“sunburnt”), equivalent to sun + burn. Compare West Frisian sinnebrân (“sunburn”), Dutch zonnebrand (“sunburn”), German Sonnenbrand (“sunburn”), Swedish solbränna (“sunburn”), and Icelandic sólbruni (“sunburn”), as well as Old English sunbryne (“sunburn”).

A burn on the tissue of crop plants or their fruits (especially if they are rich in water like tomatoes, grapes, apples, gooseberries) caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays.


death ray

(science fiction) A beam of radiation that can kill.


radioactive waste

radioactive waste (countable and uncountable, plural radioactive wastes)

Dealing with all the radioactive waste left on site is a slow-motion race against time, which will last so long that even the grandchildren of those working on site will not see its end. The process will cost at least £121bn.

December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian:


time constant

(physics) The time in which a physical system's response to a step-wise change in an external variable reaches approximately 63% of its final (asymptotic) value.

aikavakio

physics: characteristic of step response


radiological weapon

radiological weapon (plural radiological weapons)

A weapon, often a bomb, designed to achieve injury or contamination of a target by dispersing harmful radioisotopes.

放射性武器

bomb that injures or contaminates through radioisotopes


transuranium element

transuranium element (plural transuranium elements)

The main theme of TRL [Transuranium Research Laboratory] research with transuranium elements has been the exploration of a region of the periodic table that is relatively new and inaccessible to most scientists. […] Our research with the heavy elements has extended our knowledge considerably and tested our ideas concerning how the periodic table is constructed.

1983 spring, Richard Hahn, “Life at the End of the Periodic Table”, in Carolyn Krause, editor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review, volume 16, number 2, Oak Ridge, Tenn.: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25, column 1:

(chemistry) Any element having an atomic number greater than that of uranium.


nuclear power

nuclear power (countable and uncountable, plural nuclear powers)

(uncountable) Power, especially electrical power, obtained using nuclear fission or nuclear fusion.


alpha emission

(physics) A form of radioactivity in which alpha particles are emitted from the nucleus of an atom

alfasäteily

emission of alpha particles from the nucleus of an atom


beta decay

beta decay (countable and uncountable, plural beta decays)

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which a beta particle (electron or positron) is emitted.


(physics) A radioactive isotope of polonium, ²¹⁰₈₄Po, having a half-life of 138 days; it as used as a reference alpha emitter in the calibration of radiation counters


(physics) A radioactive isotope of thorium, ²²⁸₉₀Th, having a half-life of 1.9 years; it occurs naturally in small amounts, as member of the thorium-232 decay chain.


radiothorium

(physics) The radioactive isotope thorium-228


radiobioassay

(medicine) The analysis of radioactive material in the body or excreta


radiogold

(medicine) The radioactive isotope of gold, ¹⁹⁸₇₉Au, used in medical irradiation and in diagnosis


radiobiology

(biology) The study of the effects of ionizing radiation on living organisms


radiocolloid

Any colloid one or more of whose components is radioactive


radiodermatitis

(medicine) dermatitis caused by ionizing radiation


radiohydrology

The study of hydrology as used in the processing of radioactive materials.


radioimmunity

A reduced susceptibility to damage from radioactivity.


radioactively

en-adv

radioactively (comparative more radioactively, superlative most radioactively)

more radioactively (comparative)
most radioactively (superlative)


radiotracer

(sciences) A radioactive tracer; a radiolabel


radioimmunotherapy

en-noun

radioimmunotherapy (countable and uncountable, plural radioimmunotherapies)

immunotherapy using antibodies labelled with radioisotopes


(physics, medicine) The radioactive isotope of iodine, ¹³¹₅₃I, having a half-life of eight days; used as a medical tracer


radiolabel

en-verb

radiolabel (third-person singular simple present radiolabels, present participle radiolabeling or radiolabelling, simple past and past participle radiolabeled or radiolabelled)

radiolabels (present singular third-person)
radiolabeling (participle present)
radiolabelling (participle present)
radiolabeled (participle past)
radiolabeled (past)
radiolabelled (participle past)
radiolabelled (past)

To tag a substance (especially a biological substance) with a radioactive tracer


radiogenic

en-adj

radiogenic (comparative more radiogenic, superlative most radiogenic)

more radiogenic (comparative)
most radiogenic (superlative)

Of, pertaining to, or caused by radioactivity.


radioimmunoassay

radioimmunoassays (plural)
as RIA (abbreviation)

A procedure that uses the binding of a radioactively labeled substance to an antibody in order to analyze minute amounts of biological compounds.


radioimmunology

The study of immunology using antigens or antibodies labelled with radioisotopes.


radioiodine

en-noun

radioiodine (countable and uncountable, plural radioiodines)

Thyroid cells, in contrast to other cells, have the capability to organify iodine, which increases the time radioiodine can deposit energy.

2008, Kevin J. Harrington, Richard G. Vile, Hardev S. Pandha, Viral Therapy of Cancer, page 336:

(physics, medicine) The radioactive isotope of iodine, ¹³¹₅₃I, having a half-life of 8 days; used as a medical tracer


radioimmunodiffusion

(biology) immunodiffusion using antigens or antibodies labelled with radioisotopes


radiolesion

Any lesion produced by ionizing radiation.


radioligand

Any molecule that has a radioactive tracer attached, especially one used for radioimmunoassay


radiomutation

(genetics) A genetic mutation due to the effects of ionizing radiation


radionucleotide

Any nucleotide labelled with a radioactive tracer.


radionecrosis

radionecrosis (countable and uncountable, plural radionecroses)

Any necrosis caused by exposure to ionizing radiation.


radiolysis

radiolysis (countable and uncountable, plural radiolyses)

(chemistry) The dissociation of a molecule as a result of radiation


radioelement

(physics) Any element whose currently known isotopes are all radioactive.


radiopharmacology

The science of the manufacture and use of radiopharmaceuticals


radiopharmaceutical

(pharmacology) Any radioactive substance used as a pharmaceutical


radiological

Of or pertaining to radiation, radioactivity or nuclear weapons.


radioresistant

en-adj

radioresistant (comparative more radioresistant, superlative most radioresistant)

more radioresistant (comparative)
most radioresistant (superlative)

Having a certain amount of radioresistance


radioprotection

Any form of protection against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, especially caused by artificial sources.


radiosensitivity

The relative sensitivity of cells or organisms to any form of radiation, but especially to the harmful effects of ionizing radiation


radioresistance

en-noun

radioresistance (countable and uncountable, plural radioresistances)

Any form of resistance that an organism has to protect itself against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation


radiotoxic

en-adj

radiotoxic (comparative more radiotoxic, superlative most radiotoxic)

more radiotoxic (comparative)
most radiotoxic (superlative)


radio-

e.g. radiotherapy, radioactinium, radiolucent


yellow cake

en-noun

yellow cake (countable and uncountable, plural yellow cakes)

(mineralogy) Alternative form of yellowcake


uraninite

(mineralogy) Any of several brownish-black forms of uranium dioxide, UO₂, (especially pitchblende) that is the chief ore of uranium; it is isomorphous with thorianite.


snow line

(astrophysics, specifically) The limit for water remaining solid instead of evaporating away under solar radiation.


fractionation

fractionation (countable and uncountable, plural fractionations)

From fraction + -ation or fractionate + -ion.

(radiotherapy) The division of a total dose of radiation into fractions.


(physics) A doubly magic isotope of hassium - ²⁷⁰₁₀₈Hs; it is the longest-lived one known, having a half-life of several seconds.


(physics) An artificially produced radioactive isotope of potassium, ⁴³₁₉K, having a half-life of 22 hours; used in medicine as a tracer


potassium-argon dating

potassium-argon dating (usually uncountable, plural potassium-argon datings)

(geology) A method of estimating the age of igneous rocks or of archaeological objects by measuring the amount of argon that has built up through the radioactive decay of potassium.


(physics) A naturally-occurring radioactive isotope of potassium, ⁴⁰₁₉K, having nineteen protons and twenty-one neutrons, and a half-life of 1.3 billion years; it is the chief source of natural radioactivity in living tissue


(physics) An artificially produced radioactive isotope of potassium, ⁴²₁₉K, having a half-life of 12.4 hours; used in medicine as a tracer


radioactive decay

radioactive decay (countable and uncountable, plural radioactive decays)

(physics) Any of several processes by which unstable nuclei emit subatomic particles and/or ionizing radiation and disintegrate into one or more smaller nuclei.


activation analysis

activation analysis (plural activation analyses)

(physical chemistry) Any of several similar radiochemical techniques of analysis in which a subatomic particle or gamma ray is captured by a nuclide to form a second stable nuclide which is then measured.

analyse par activation

technique in which a subatomic particle or gamma ray is captured by a nuclide


Geiger counter

/ˈɡaɪɡə ˈkaʊntə/

/ˈɡaɪɡɚ ˈkaʊntɚ/

Ernest Rutherford
Geiger counter
Hans Geiger

Named after Hans Geiger who developed the first such device in 1908 together with Ernest Rutherford.

Figure 27 shows a Geiger counter, used to detect ionizing radiation. The counter consists of a thin central wire, carrying a positive charge, surrounded by a concentric circular conducting cylinder, carrying an equal negative charge.

1988, David Halliday, Robert Resnick, Fundamentals of Physics, 3rd edition, page 387:

A device designed to detect radioactivity and measure its intensity.


cutie pie

Most hospitals stock cutie pies to monitor radiation contamination levels during an emergency.

2014, Mary Alice Statkiewicz Sherer, Paula J. Visconti, E. Russell Ritenour, Workbook for Radiation Protection in Medical Radiography, page 23:

(slang) A small hand-held radiation meter.


autoradiograph

(photography) A photograph image produced by placing a film in contact with a specimen containing (or treated with) radioactive material; an autoradiogram


From U (“the chemical symbol for uranium”).


From uranium + 235 (“the atomic mass of the isotope”).

af

The Zaporizhzhia plant provided about a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before Russia’s invasion, and has been forced to operate on backup generators a number of times. It has six Soviet-designed water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing uranium-235.

2022 November 21, Lorenzo Tondo, Peter Beaumont, “Ukraine to start evacuations in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions as winter sets in”, in The Guardian:

(physics) A fissile isotope of uranium, used for energy generation and in atomic weapons, containing one hundred and forty-three neutrons. It has a half-life of 7·038×10⁸ years; it decays into thorium-231 and ultimately lead.


(physics) An artificial radioisotope of fluorine, ¹⁸₉F, having 9 protons and 9 neutrons, that is an important industrial source of positrons


positron emission tomography
positron emission tomography

(physics) A radioactive isotope of nitrogen, ¹³₇N, having seven protons and six neutrons, and a half-life of less than ten minutes; it is used in positron emission tomography. It also plays a role in the CNO cycle.


(physics) A radioactive isotope of sulfur, ³⁵₁₆S, having sixteen protons and nineteen neutrons, and a half-life of about 87 days; it is used as a tracer


(physics) A long-lived radioactive isotope of chlorine, ³⁶₁₇Cl, having seventeen protons and nineteen neutrons, and a half-life of 3x10⁵ years; it can be used to date samples of groundwater


(physics) A radioactive isotope of calcium, ⁴⁵₂₀Ca, having twenty protons and twenty-five neutrons, and a half-life of 162.6 days; it is used as a tracer in studying calcium metabolism. As it decays it undergoes transformation (nuclear transmutation) via electron emission, also called negative beta decay (β−-decay), into scandium.


carnotite

en-noun

carnotite (countable and uncountable, plural carnotites)

(mineralogy) A yellow mineral that is a potassium uranyl vanadate that is a major ore of uranium, with the chemical formula K₂(UO₂)₂(VO₄)₂·3H₂O.


radium hydroxide

(inorganic chemistry) The strong base Ra(OH)₂ obtained when radium reacts with water; it has no commercial use


positron emission tomography

positron emission tomography (countable and uncountable, plural positron emission tomographies)

(medicine) A medical imaging technique which detects the gamma rays produced by positrons emitted from injected radionuclides.

正电子发射计算机断层扫描

zhèngdiànzǐ fāshè jìsuànjī duàncéng sǎomiáo


volume CT

(medicine) A medical-imaging modality, similar to traditional computed tomography imaging, which acquires data via a two-dimensional detector array and reconstructs the images directly into a volume representation of the patient.


low-dose CT scanning

(medicine) A CT system (computed tomography) that limits the radiation exposure to the patient and produces high-resolution three-dimensional images.


metamict

(mineralogy) A mineral with a disrupted crystal structure due to radiation damage.


island of stability

island of stability (plural islands of stability)

(nuclear physics) A grouping of isotopes of some transuranic elements that are predicted to be more stable than others due to having filled shells of protons and neutrons.


nucleogenic

en-adj

nucleogenic (comparative more nucleogenic, superlative most nucleogenic)

more nucleogenic (comparative)
most nucleogenic (superlative)

(physics, of an isotope etc) Produced by a natural terrestrial nuclear reaction


metastable

(physics, chemistry) Of or pertaining to a physical or chemical state that is relatively long-lived, but may decay to a lower energy state when slightly perturbed or through a quantum transition.


metastable isomer

en-noun

metastable isomer (plural metastable isomers)

(physics) An excited state of an isotope, often having different a spin quantum number (designated with an m)


pertechnetate

(inorganic chemistry) The univalent technetium anion TcO₄⁻; any salt containing this anion


yellowcake

yellowcake (countable and uncountable, plural yellowcakes)

From yellow + cake, from its colour and texture.

A concentrated form of uranium ore containing a mixture of oxides.


positronium

positronium (plural positroniums or positronia)

positroniums (plural)
positronia (plural)

(physics, chemistry) An exotic atom (specifically, an onium) consisting of a positron (anti-electron) and an electron, as a particle–anti-particle bound pair with no nucleus.


rutherford

An obsolete unit of radioactivity (symbol: rd), defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one million nuclei decay per second.


reprocessing

reprocessing (countable and uncountable, plural reprocessings)

eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

(engineering, nuclear physics, uncountable) The process of extracting useful or valuable materials from used nuclear fuel, mainly focusing on the recovery of fissile and fertile material for use in fresh nuclear reactor fuel, or, in some cases, the manufacture of nuclear weapons.


uranian

(mineralogy) Containing hexavalent uranium.


autunite

autunite (countable and uncountable, plural autunites)

From Autun + -ite, after Autun, France, near which it was discovered in 1852.

(mineralogy) A yellow mineral with tetragonal crystals, Ca(UO₂)₂(PO₄)₂·10-12H₂O.


neutron drip line

neutron drip line (plural neutron drip lines)

(physics) The jagged line, on a chart showing the number of protons and neutrons of all known isotopes, beyond which neutron-rich nuclei are unstable and emit neutrons.


beta radiation

beta radiation (countable and uncountable, plural beta radiations)

(physics) The radiation of beta particles as a result of radioactive decay.


blue flash

(nuclear physics) A phenomenon sometimes observed when a criticality incident occurs in nuclear materials, inducing a discharge of radiation into the environment.


nonradioactive

Not radioactive; not generating radioactivity.


radioactive dating

radioactive dating (usually uncountable, plural radioactive datings)

The process of determining the age of a material by estimating the amount of radioactive decay of one or more radioisotopes present in the material when it was formed.

radioaktiivinen iänmääritys

process of determining age by estimating radioactive decay


radiometric dating

radiometric dating (plural radiometric datings)

Perhaps the most significant achievement of radiometric dating over the past two decades has been to provide an absolute calibration, in years, for the traditional sedimentary time scale.

1984, Don L. Eicher, Arcie Lee McAlester, Marcia L. Rottman, The History of the Earth's Crust, Prentice-Hall, page 16:

Radiometric dating of Moon rocks and meteorites has enabled us to determine that the age of the Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years.

1999, Stanley Chernicoff, Haydn A. Fox, Essentials of Geology, Houghton Mifflin, page 150:

For various reasons, we have discarded the radiometric datings obtained in minero-metallurgical regions of Huelva province:[…].

2001, Maria Eugenia Aubet, translated by Mary Turton, The Phoenicians and the West, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, page 379:

The first is radiometric dating of meteorites and rocks from the surface of the moon.

2002, Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, Volume 6, Academic Press, page 639:

radioactive dating
radioactive dating#English


alpha decay

(physics) Radioactive decay by emitting an alpha particle.

阿爾法衰變

radioactive decay by emitting an alpha particle


alpha radiation

(physics) The radiation of alpha particles as a result of radioactive decay.


RTG

radioisotope thermoelectric generator
w:radioisotope thermoelectric generator

Initialism of radioisotope thermoelectric generator (a device that generates electricity from the natural decay of radioactive material).


diuranate

(inorganic chemistry) The dibasic anion U₂O₇²⁻ or any salt containing this anion


uranate

/ˈjʊəɹəneɪt/

(inorganic chemistry) Any of several oxyanions of uranium; any salt containing these anions.


nuclear waste

nuclear waste (countable and uncountable, plural nuclear wastes)

The more or less radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors and others.


HEU

highly-enriched uranium
highly-enriched uranium#English


LEU

LEU (countable and uncountable, plural LEUs)

low-enriched uranium
low-enriched uranium#English

(nuclear) Initialism of low-enriched uranium.


SEU

SEU (countable and uncountable, plural SEUs)

slightly-enriched uranium
slightly-enriched uranium#English

Initialism of slightly-enriched uranium.


low-enriched uranium

(nuclear physics) Enriched uranium with at least 2% but less than 20% uranium-235, enough to sustain a nuclear fission chain reaction in a nuclear reactor moderated by light water but not enough to allow a self-sustaining fission chain reaction without a moderator; used as the main nuclear fuel in most commercial nuclear reactors used to generate electricity.


superradiance

(physics) The cooperative enhancement of spontaneous emission by constructive interatomic interference, producing an incoherent form of radiation.


plutonium dioxide

(inorganic chemistry) The yellow-brown solid, PuO₂, formed by the spontaneous oxidation of plutonium metal; it is used in mixed oxide fuel for nuclear reactors


mixed oxide

(inorganic chemistry) Any mixture of the oxides of more than one metal, but especially the blend of plutonium and uranium oxides that is used (as MOX fuel) in nuclear reactors


radiochemical

(physics, chemistry) Of or pertaining to radiochemistry


transplutonium

en-adj

transplutonium (comparative more transplutonium, superlative most transplutonium)

more transplutonium (comparative)
most transplutonium (superlative)

(physics, chemistry) Describing elements having an atomic number greater than that of plutonium (94)


radioenzymatic

(biochemistry) Describing any investigation into an enzyme by the use of a radioactive substrate.


radiorelease

(chemistry) The release of a radioactive substance during a chemical reaction.


radioiodination

en-noun

radioiodination (countable and uncountable, plural radioiodinations)

(chemistry) The incorporation of any radioiodine into a compound or tissue.


radiogravimetric

en-adj

radiogravimetric (comparative more radiogravimetric, superlative most radiogravimetric)

more radiogravimetric (comparative)
most radiogravimetric (superlative)

(chemistry) Describing a form of gravimetric analysis in which the radioactivity of a product is measured instead of its mass


QSS

quasi-stellar source
quasi-stellar radio-source#English

(astronomy, obsolete) Initialism of quasi-stellar source.


radiometal

Any radioactive isotope of a metal, especially one used as a biochemical label


radiopure

radiopure (comparative more radiopure, superlative most radiopure)

more radiopure (comparative)
most radiopure (superlative)


radiophysics

(physics) The physics of ionizing radiation


radiohalogen

(chemistry, physics) Any radioactive isotope of a halogen


radioscan

A scan for the presence of radioactive material in a sample; especially for a radioactive tracer in an organ


radiobismuth

Any radioactive isotope of bismuth, especially when used in metabolic studies


radium dial

The dial of a watch or clock on which the hours have been marked with a radium compound to make them luminous


radiodiagnosis

en-noun

radiodiagnosis (countable and uncountable, plural radiodiagnoses)

(medicine) diagnosis by means of X-rays or radiochemical tracers


transfermium

(physics, chemistry) Describing any element that lies beyond fermium in the periodic table; having an atomic number greater than 100.


parent nuclide

(physics) the nuclide whose radioactive decay product is a specific daughter nuclide


daughter nuclide

daughter nuclide (plural daughter nuclides)

(physics) a nuclide (often one of several) that is the product of the radioactive decay of a specific parent nuclide


radiorespirometry

(biology, chemistry) A technique in which a substance radioactively labelled with ¹⁴₆C is introduced into a closed environment, and any radioactive carbon dioxide subsequently detected is used as evidence for the presence of life


superactinide

(chemistry) Any of the undiscovered chemical elements from unbiunium (121) to perhaps unpentseptium (157), following the transactinides. These will presumably go below the actinides in the periodic table.


cobalt therapy

cobalt therapy (countable and uncountable, plural cobalt therapies)

(medicine) radiation therapy that uses radioactive cobalt-60 as a source


nuclear medicine

(medicine) The branch of medicine that uses radioactive isotopes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.


betafite

betafite (countable and uncountable, plural betafites)

From Betafo + -ite, after Betafo in the Malagasy Republic, where it was discovered.

(mineralogy) A radioactive mineral in the pyrochlore group, having chemical formula (Ca,U)₂(Ti,Nb,Ta)₂O₆(OH).


coffinite

From Coffin + -ite, after Reuben Clare Coffin, American geologist.

(mineralogy) A brown or black uranium-bearing silicate mineral.


radiation dose

(physics) The amount of radiation to which something is exposed.

the SI unit of measurement of this phenomenon


medical isotope

medical isotope (plural medical isotopes)

(medicine) a radioisotope used in medicine


gamma decay

gamma decay (countable and uncountable, plural gamma decays)

(physics, countable) A nuclear reaction with the emission of a gamma ray.


ORNL

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
w:Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Initialism of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.


nuclear hydrogen detection meter

nuclear hydrogen detection meter (plural nuclear hydrogen detection meters)

nuclear hydrogen detection meters (plural)

(roofing) A device that contains a radioactive source to emit high velocity neutrons into a roof system. Reflecting neutrons are measured by a gauge that is used to detect hydrogen; the quantity of hydrogen detected may be linked to the pressure of water.


Geiger-Müller counter

Geiger-Müller counter (plural Geiger-Müller counters)

Named for Hans Geiger and Walther Müller, German physicists.


ARS

acute radiation syndrome
acute radiation syndrome#English


cuprouranite

The mineral copper uranite or torbernite.


torbernite

torbernite (countable and uncountable, plural torbernites)

From Torben + -ite. From Torbern Bergman (1735-1784), Swedish chemist.

(mineralogy) A radioactive green phosphate mineral, isostructural with autunite, found in granites and other uranium-bearing deposits as a secondary mineral.


curium bromide

(inorganic chemistry) The curium salt of hydrobromic acid, CmBr₃


delta ray

(physics) An electron ejected by recoil when a rapidly moving alpha particle or other charged particle passes through matter.


organotechnetium

(organic chemistry) Describing any organic compound containing a carbon-to-technetium bond.


organouranium

(organic chemistry) Describing any organic compound containing a carbon-to-uranium bond.


uranocene

uranocene (countable and uncountable, plural uranocenes)

(organic chemistry) The actinocene cyclooctatetraenide with chemical formula U(C₈H₈)₂, one of the first organouranium compounds to be synthesized.


thoron

From Thor + -on. From thorium, itself from Thor.

(physics) Radon-220 (²²⁰₈₆Rn; symbol Tn), an isotope of radon


sensorchip

Any of several semiconductor devices used to detect or image forms of radiation


organopolonium

(organic chemistry) Describing any organic compound containing a carbon to polonium bond.


organothorium

(organic chemistry) Describing any organic compound containing a carbon to thorium bond.


organoplutonium

(organic chemistry) Describing any organic compound containing a carbon to plutonium bond.


Fukushima

Borrowed from Japanese 福島(ふくしま) (Fukushima).

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster following a tsunami in 2011.


jellyfish baby

jellyfish baby (plural jellyfish babies)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-jellyfish baby.wav

A stillborn infant with transparent skin and without bones, resulting from radiation poisoning.


bectumomab

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

A monoclonal antibody used to detect non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.


besilesomab

A mouse monoclonal antibody used to detect inflammatory lesions and metastases.


halo nucleus

(nuclear physics) An atomic nucleus whose radius is appreciably larger than that predicted by the liquid drop model (wherein the nucleus is assumed to be a sphere of constant density).


mesothorium

From meso- + thorium. Probably so-called because these two isotopes (²²⁸Ra and ²²⁸Ac) are, in the decay chain, intermediate between normal thorium (²³²Th) and radiothorium (²²⁸Th).

(physics) Certain members of the decay chain of thorium, mainly isotopes of radium and actinium


radio galaxy

(astronomy) Type of galaxy that is very luminous at radio wavelengths.


studtite

From Studt + -ite.
From Franz Edward Studt, English prospector and geologist.

(mineralogy) A secondary uranium mineral containing peroxide formed by the alpha-radiolysis of water during formation; it occurs as white yellow needlelike crystals often in acicular sprays.


superheavy

(nuclear physics) Describing a transuranic element with an extremely high atomic number; typically taken to mean beyond lawrencium (element 103, the last actinide)


calutron

Coined by Ernest Lawrence from Cal U. (“UC Berkeley”) + -tron.

(physics) A form of mass spectrometer used to separate the isotopes of uranium.


actinon

(physics, dated) Radon-219 (²¹⁹₈₆Rn; symbol An), an isotope of radon


burnup

burnup (countable and uncountable, plural burnups)

(physics) A measure of the consumption of fuel in a nuclear reactor.


superradiant

en-adj

superradiant (comparative more superradiant, superlative most superradiant)

more superradiant (comparative)
most superradiant (superlative)

Of, pertaining to, or producing superradiance


actiniferous

actiniferous (comparative more actiniferous, superlative most actiniferous)

more actiniferous (comparative)
most actiniferous (superlative)


uraniferous

uraniferous (comparative more uraniferous, superlative most uraniferous)

more uraniferous (comparative)
most uraniferous (superlative)


poloniferous

poloniferous (comparative more poloniferous, superlative most poloniferous)

more poloniferous (comparative)
most poloniferous (superlative)

(rare) Containing or producing polonium.


plutoniferous

plutoniferous (comparative more plutoniferous, superlative most plutoniferous)

more plutoniferous (comparative)
most plutoniferous (superlative)

(rare) Containing or producing plutonium.


A radioactive isotope of caesium, ¹³⁷₅₅Cr, having 55 protons and 82 neutrons and which is formed mainly as a fission product by nuclear fission.


Hanford

en-proper noun

Hanford (countable and uncountable, plural Hanfords)

From Welsh hen ("old") and ford ("a way"): the old way (Source: William Arthur 1857).

A suburb in south-west Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England (OS grid ref SJ8742).


thorian

en-adj

thorian (comparative more thorian, superlative most thorian)

more thorian (comparative)
most thorian (superlative)


drip line

Hydrogen-7 has so many excess neutrons that it lies beyond the neutron drip line, and will spit out neutrons until it becomes a particle-bound isotope.

(nuclear physics) On the table of nuclides, the limit beyond which an atomic nucleus will immediately decay by emitting a proton or neutron.


brevium

(obsolete) ²³⁴₉₁Pa, a short-lived isotope of protactinium.


downwinder

A person (or community) that lives downwind from a potential hazard (such as a nuclear power station)


uranophane

en-noun

uranophane (usually uncountable, plural uranophanes)

(mineralogy) A rare yellow radioactive calcium uranium silicate hydrate mineral that forms from the oxidation of uranium-bearing minerals.


radioracemization

(physics, chemistry) racemization under the influence of ionizing radiation.


RIA

(nuclear industry) Initialism of radioimmunoassay.


margaritasite

From Margaritas (“uranium deposit in Mexico”) + -ite.

affix

(mineralogy) A yellow monoclinic caesium-bearing mineral in the carnotite group.


uranopilite

From uranium + Ancient Greek πῖλος (pîlos, “felt”) + -ite, alluding to its composition and habit (containing uranium) and felt-like appearance.

(mineralogy) A fluorescent radioactive mineral, hydrated uranyl sulfate hydroxide.


thoriate

en-verb

thoriate (third-person singular simple present thoriates, present participle thoriating, simple past and past participle thoriated)

thoriates (present singular third-person)
thoriating (participle present)
thoriated (participle past)
thoriated (past)

One must thoriate the filament in order for it to be effective.

(transitive) To add thorium or thorium oxide to (a substance) in order to increase its thermionic flow.


thoriated

en-adj

thoriated (comparative more thoriated, superlative most thoriated)

more thoriated (comparative)
most thoriated (superlative)


super-heavy water

(inorganic chemistry) Water containing tritium instead of normal hydrogen (protium).


polycrase

en-noun

polycrase (usually uncountable, plural polycrases)

(mineralogy) A black or brown amorphous metallic complex uranium yttrium oxide mineral, found in granitic pegmatites.


metamictization

A natural process in which the radiation emitted by a mineral gradually destroys the mineral's crystal structure, leaving it amorphous.


ekanite

ekanite (usually uncountable, plural ekanites)

From the name of F. L. D. Ekanayake, who first described it, + -ite.

(mineralogy) An uncommon mineral, one of very few gemstones that are naturally radioactive. (It contains thorium.)


free neutron

A neutron not bound in an atomic nucleus.


neutron radiation

non-ionizing radiation
non-ionizing radiation

A form of non-ionizing radiation consisting of free neutrons.


ATWS

(nuclear power) Initialism of anticipated transient without SCRAM.


LOCA

(nuclear industry) loss-of-coolant accident


BED

banana equivalent dose
banana equivalent dose#English


banana equivalent dose

banana equivalent dose (plural banana equivalent doses)

(biology) The radiation dose equivalent of consuming an average banana, equal to 0.01 mrem or 0.1 μSv.


MOX

mixed oxide fuel
mixed oxide fuel#English


recriticality

recriticality (countable and uncountable, plural recriticalities)

(physics) A return to a point at which a nuclear reaction becomes self-sustaining.


gamma particle

A photon with a wavelength short enough to be considered a gamma ray, usually emitted from radioactivity.


ionium

(physics) The isotope of thorium ²³⁰₉₀Th


gigabecquerel

A unit of radioactivity equal to one billion becquerels.


terabecquerel

A unit of radioactivity equal to one trillion becquerels.


kilobecquerel

A unit of radioactivity equal to one thousand becquerels


megabecquerel

A unit of radioactivity equal to one million becquerels.


giant radio galaxy

giant radio galaxy (plural giant radio galaxies)

(astronomy) a very large radio galaxy; a double radio source having an overall projected linear length exceeding 2 megaparsecs (or more specifically, 2×h₅₀⁻¹ Mpc)


yttrotantalite

yttrotantalite (usually uncountable, plural yttrotantalites)

(mineralogy) A brown or black tantalate of uranium, yttrium, and calcium.


subcritical mass

subcritical mass (plural subcritical masses)

(physics) A mass of fissile material that is insufficient to sustain a nuclear chain reaction.

alikriittinen massa

insufficient mass to sustain chain reaction


supercritical mass

supercritical mass (plural supercritical masses)

(physics) A mass of fissile material that is more than sufficient to sustain a nuclear chain reaction.


uranopolycrase

(mineralogy) An orthorhombic-dipyramidal brown red mineral containing niobium, oxygen, tantalum, thorium, titanium, uranium, and yttrium.


uranotungstite

(mineralogy) An orthorhombic mineral containing barium, hydrogen, iron, lead, oxygen, tungsten, and uranium.


uranocircite

(mineralogy) A tetragonal-ditetragonal dipyramidal mineral containing barium, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and uranium.


curite

curite (usually uncountable, plural curites)

From Curie (“a surname”) + -ite, after Pierre Curie and/or his wife Marie, early researchers of radioactivity — the ore being radioactive due to its uranium.

The color is lighter than that of curite.

1956, Walter Fred Hunt, editor, American Mineralogist, volume 41, page 555:

The present note relates to the behaviour of uranium minerals such as uraninite, curite, and uranophane in high-tension separators.

1962, Thomas Arthur Rickard, editor, The Mining Magazine, volumes 106-107, page 9:

1982, R. W. Boyle, Geochemical Prospecting for Thorium and Uranium Deposits, Elsevier, Developments in Economic Geology: 16, page 68,
Yellow, orange, greenish, and bluish oxidation products of uranium and copper comprising gummite and containing minerals such as curite, liebigite, malachite and azurite may be developed locally in the oxidized rubble and gossans.

(mineralogy) An orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing hydrogen, lead, oxygen, and uranium.


phosphuranylite

For its composition, a phosphorus-bearing mineral with a uranyl anion base, + -ite.

(mineralogy) An orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, and uranium.


nuclear power station

nuclear power station (plural nuclear power stations)

For 75 years, it has fulfilled a wide range of roles: producing weapons-grade plutonium for early atomic weapons in the aftermath of the Second World War; the world's first commercial nuclear power station supplying electricity to the National Grid; reprocessing and storage of nuclear fuel; and the processing of lower grades of radioactive waste for off-site storage.

A power station that obtains its primary energy from the heat generated in nuclear reactions.


nuclear power plant

nuclear power plant (plural nuclear power plants)

A power plant that obtains its primary energy from the heat generated in nuclear reactions.

原子力発電所

げんしりょくはつでんしょ


tritiated water

Super-heavy water
super-heavy water#English

(inorganic chemistry) Water in which one or both protium (normal hydrogen) atoms have been replaced by atoms of tritium hydrogen:


thoria

thoria (countable and uncountable, plural thorias)

(mineralogy) The rare earth thorium oxide.


radiosodium

radioactive sodium (especially when used as a tracer)


radioaluminium

radioactive aluminium (especially when used as a tracer)


radiocesium

radiocesium (countable and uncountable, plural radiocesiums)


radiocobalt

Radioactive cobalt (especially when used as a tracer).


radioethanol

radioactive ethanol (labelled with radioactive carbon)


radiobenzene

radioactive benzene (labelled with radioactive carbon)


radiobromine

[…]the positron-emitters bromine-75 and -76 received attention as attractive isotopes right from the beginning of PET-imaging. This was due to existing iodine-123 [a radioactive isotope] labelled tracers and ligands for SPECT, offering homologous non-isotopic radiobromine compounds [in place of the radioiodine].

2021 January 20, Heinz H. Coenen, Johannes Ermert, “Expanding PET-applications in life sciences with positron-emitters beyond fluorine-18”, in Nuclear Medicine and Biology, volume 92, →DOI, pages 241–269:


radiophosphorus

radioactive phosphorus (especially when used as a tracer)


radiocomplex

(chemistry) A complex containing a radiotracer


radioiodide

radioiodide (countable and uncountable, plural radioiodides)


radiowaste

radiowaste (countable and uncountable, plural radiowastes)


quadrium

The decimal character of 4.1 is a reminder that this is not a conventional H isotope such as quadrium, ⁴H, or other isotopes up to ⁷H, with lifetimes, when known in the 0.1 to 1 zs range.

2011, “Kinetic Isotope Effects for the Reactions of Muonic Helium and Muonium with H₂”, in Science, volume 331, number 6016, page 448:

(physics, rare) A highly unstable synthetic isotope of the element hydrogen, ⁴₁H, having one proton and three neutrons.


(physics) An isotope of yttrium, ⁹⁰₃₉Y, that is used in radiotherapy


technetate

(inorganic chemistry) Any oxyanion of technetium; any salt containing such an anion.


thorotrast

Blend of thorium + contrast. Originally a trade name.

(medicine) A radiographic contrast medium composed of a suspension of thorium dioxide.


N-ray

Compare X-ray. N stands for the University of Nancy in France, where the supposed discovery was made.

A discredited hypothetical form of radiation described in 1903.


Rb-Sr

The age of the Panda intrusion has been dated precisely by Rb-Sr determinations on kimberlitic phlogopite (n = 7), yielding a robust isochron of 53.3±0.6 Ma (Early Eocene, Ypresian).

2012, Wolfe AP, Csank AZ, Reyes AV, McKellar RC, Tappert R, et al., "Pristine Early Eocene Wood Buried Deeply in Kimberlite from Northern Canada", PLoS ONE 7(9): e45537. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045537


rubidium-strontium

Isotopic dating of meteorites using the rubidium-strontium system and others indicates that the most primitive rocks in the solar system are 4.56 billion years old, determined rather precisely.

1999, Jonathan I Lunine, Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World, page 101:

(attributive) Designating a method of geological dating based on the relative amounts in rock of rubidium-87 and its beta-decay product, strontium-87.


radioresponse

(physiology) The body's recovery/repair response, in the form of specific cytokines, to radiation damage


radiogenesis

The production of nuclides by radioactive decay.


neutron capture

(physics) A form of nuclear reaction in which one or more neutrons are absorbed by an atomic nucleus

neutronisieppaus

nuclear reaction in which neutrons are absorbed