Half-life

Half-life

The amount of time for half of the atoms of a radioactive element in a sample to decay, or fission. The reduction in the number of atoms follows a geometric scale--at the end of 2 half-lives, there are 1/4 of the atoms left; at the end of 3 half-lives, there are 1/8 remaining; etc.

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Part of Speech: noun
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Industry/Domain: Anthropology
Category: Physical anthropology
Company: Palomar College
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Related terms

half-life

Internet; Internet communication

A measurement for the amount of time a radioactive substance takes to lose half of its atoms. In technology, it refers to the amount of time that it takes for a storage device to ...

half-life

Energy; Nuclear energy

The time in which one half of the atoms of a particular radioactive substance disintegrate into another nuclear form. Measured half-lives vary from millionths of a second to ...

half-life

Natural environment; Coral reefs

The time required for a radioactive substance to lose half of its nuclei.

half-life

Medical devices; Radiology equipment

The time any substance takes to decay by half of its original amount. See also biological half-life, decay constant, effective half-life, radioactive half-life.

half-life

Printing & publishing; Publishing

The time it takes for a sensational news item to migrate from a front-page (qv) report to a back-page filler (qv), or for a spectacular entertainment to lose public interest; ...

half-life

Archaeology; Evolution

The amount of time it takes for one-half of the atoms of a radioactive material to decay to a stable form. For example, the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,568 years.

malnourishment

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

An inadequacy or an excess of some key element(s) in the diet, such as proteins, fats, or specific minerals and vitamins. See undernourishment and overnourishment.

cataract

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

An impairment of vision caused by the lenses of the eyes becoming cloudy. Cataracts are common in elderly people. They may be inherited or caused by diabetes and environmental ...

oöcyte

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

An immature female sex cell. These egg precursor cells, or primary oöcytes, are produced before birth. They become secondary oöcytes usually one by one after puberty when hormones ...

chronic disease

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

An illness that lasts for a long period of time or indefinitely. In contrast, an acute disease is one with a rapid onset and a short but usually severe course.

microcephaly

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

An extremely rare genetically inherited condition in which babies are born with extremely small brains and heads. This fatal condition has been found only among the children of 23 ...

oxidizable carbon ratio (OCR) dating

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

An experimental dating technique based on the fact that organic carbon in soil humus and charcoal progressively convert to oxidizable carbon over time. The ratios of these two ...

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Industry/Domain: Textiles Category: Fibers & stitching

Acrylic

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