radioactiveadj.

Brit.

/ˌreɪdɪəʊˈaktɪv/, U.S.

/ˌreɪdioʊˈæktɪv/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding; modelled on a French lexical item. Etymons: radio- comb. form², active adj.

Etymology: < radio- comb. form² + active adj., after French radioactif (P. Curie & M. Sklodowska-Curie 1898, in Comptes rendus hebd. de l'Acad. des Sci. 127 175).

1. Of a substance, object, atomic nucleus, etc.: having an inherent tendency to undergo spontaneous nuclear transformation (decay) involving the emission of ionizing radiation in the form of particles or gamma rays.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [adjective] > affecting photographic plate

radioactive1898

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [adjective] > capable of spontaneous decay

radioactive1898

active1899

1898 Nature 28 July 312/1 On a new radio-active substance contained in pitchblende.

1900 19th Cent. Dec. 932 Material particles projected from the radio-active bodies.

1904 E. Rutherford Radio-activity v. 161 This increase of activity is due to the continuous production by the radium of the radio-active emanation or gas.

1904 M. Twain Europe & Elsewhere (1923) xxvi. 332 She ransacks the pitchblende for its radioactive substances.

1913 Q. Rev. July 117 The disintegration of atom after atom of the radio-active element.

1935 Nature 9 Nov. 754/1 The radio~active phosphorus in the urine..was then investigated.

1941 Sci. News Let. 30 Aug. 135/1 His discovery of the radioactive element No. 93, now called neptunium.

1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Nov. p. iv/3 Death waits for us on the zebra crossing; and tomorrow morning's milk may be radio~active.

1959 Daily Tel. 23 Mar. 18/3 The rate of descent from the stratosphere of radio-active debris, including strontium 90, from nuclear explosions.

1966 C. R. Tottle Sci. Engin. Materials i. 23 Almost all elements of atomic number greater than Z = 83 (bismuth) are naturally radioactive.

1969 N. W. Pirie Food Resources v. 127 Marine organisms concentrate several of the radioactive isotopes enormously.

1986 Jrnl. Royal Coll. Physicians 20 111/2 Nuclear medicine uses as its essential ‘tool’ pharmaceuticals labelled with radioactive atoms.

2006 P. Williams Rise & Fall Yummy Mummy xxxi. 216 The fridge is now entirely stocked with locally sourced organics, such is our fear of pumping our darling daughter full of sex hormones, antibiotics and radioactive ingredients.

2. Of a process, phenomenon, etc.: involving or produced by radioactivity; of or relating to radioactivity.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [adjective]

radioactive1903

radiative1930

1903 E. Rutherford & F. Soddy in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 5 580 These rays have not yet been sufficiently examined to make any discussion possible of the part they play in radioactive processes.

1906 Nature 25 Oct. 634/1 The escape of the emanation causes a radio-active contamination of the laboratory.

1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity vii. 78 Ions are produced along the tracks of the radioactive rays.

1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. li. 879 When the mineral is heated this helium, which is radio-active in origin, is expelled.

1961 G. R. Choppin Exper. Nucl. Chem. i. 3 The formation of a more stable nucleus as a result of radioactive decay is accompanied by a release of energy.

1977 Nature 10 Mar. 106/1 Even the most resolute proclaimers of radioactive doom seem to have convinced themselves that fusion power will be gentle and on a homely scale.

1995 L. Garrett Coming Plague (new ed.) vi. 174 Lung, liver, and kidney samples..were subjected to radioactive assays for heavy-metal poisoning.

3. figurative. Of a person, place, etc.: emitting or associated with the emission of intense energy, esp. of a dangerous or unstable kind; (also) characterized by gradual self-destruction. Cf. electric adj. 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > lively, vivacious, or animated > that rouses or animates

rousing1576

radioactive1905

1905 S. Macnaughtan Lame Dog's Diary x. 128 Eliza has found that London is radio-active, hence enjoyable. And Eliza had only been once to the Royal Institution when she said it!

1919 D. H. Lawrence in Eng. Rev. June 477 Our plasmic psyche is radio-active, connecting with all things, and having first-knowledge of all things.

1923 L. P. Smith in S.P.E. Tract (Soc. for Pure Eng.) No. XII. 57 This radio-active quality of popular idiom, this power to give out life and never lose it.

1934 Punch 5 Sept. 280/2 The invalid son, who ultimately comes out at least all even in the contest with the radio-active Audrey.

1955 A. Koestler Trail of Dinosaur 12 The logic of expediency leads to the atomic disintegration of morality, a kind of radioactive decay of all values.

1974 Times 27 May 6/1 His [sc. Byron's] was a radio-active personality that had shattering effects on all who came in contact with him.

1994 Sunday Times 6 Mar. i. 15/1 ‘Radioactive does not even begin to describe the atmosphere in here,’ said one White House official.

Compounds

radioactive constant n. Physics a number representing the speed of radioactive decay, equal to the probability of a nucleus decaying in unit time; symbol λ; = disintegration constant n. at disintegration n. Compounds 2.The relation between λ and the half-life τ is τ = ^{ln 2}/ _λ.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [noun] > proportion likely to decay

radioactive constant1903

1903 E. Rutherford & F. Soddy in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 5 581 The law of radioactive change may therefore be expressed in the one statement—the proportional amount of radioactive matter that changes in unit time is a constant... λ may therefore be suitably called the ‘radioactive constant’.

1942 J. D. Stranathan ‘Particles’ of Mod. Physics viii. 325 (heading) Relationships among the several radioactive constants.

2005 Marine Geol. 214 168/2 λ is the radioactive constant for ¹⁴C.

radioactive equilibrium n. Physics a condition in which the quantities of radioactive daughter nuclides in a material remain constant because they are formed from the parent as fast as they decay.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [noun] > stability of daughter decay

radioactive equilibrium1904

1904 E. Rutherford Radio-activity vii. 189 In uranium and thorium compounds there is a continuous production of active matter which keeps the compound in radio-active equilibrium.

1946 Physical Rev. 69 672/2 Since the age of the earth is much greater than the life of C¹⁴ a radioactive equilibrium must exist in which the rate of disintegration of C¹⁴ is equal to the rate of production.

1992 Cambr. Encycl. Human Evol. (1994) v. iii. 182/2 An uranium-containing mineral will in time contain each one of the elements in the decay series, in a concentration related to each element's half-life. This condition is termed radioactive equilibrium.

radioactive indicator n. Biology and Medicine = radioactive tracer n.

ΚΠ

1923 Biochem. Jrnl. 17 439 (title) A contribution to the application of the method of radioactive indicators in the investigation of the change of substance in plants.

1987 European Jrnl. Nucl. Med. 13 28 Various in vitro methods employing radioactive indicators have been presented for the determination of glomerular filtration rate.

radioactive series n. Physics a series of radioactive nuclides each member of which decays into the next, together with a non-radioactive end product; the series of transformations relating such a set of nuclides; esp. each of four such series occurring among the nuclides heavier than lead (the thorium, actinium, and radium (or uranium) series, which occur naturally and terminate with different isotopes of lead, and the neptunium series); = series n. 14b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [noun] > series

series1903

radioactive series1907

1907 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 29 1705 The activity of the equilibrium amount of any member of a radioactive series is proportional to its range.

1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity xxiv. 184 The element thorium is the parent element of a radioactive series.

1956 I. Asimov Inside Atom v. 85 The entire set of changes is an example of a radioactive series. This particular one we have been talking about is the uranium-238 series.

1997 C. Clark Radium Girls, Women & Industr. Health Reform 1 As radium decayed through its radioactive series, it produced radon, a radioactive gas, most of which would have been exhaled.

radioactive tracer n. Biology and Medicine a radionuclide or radioactively labelled substance used as a tracer (tracer n.¹ 2c).

ΚΠ

1940 Biol. Bull. 79 342 (title) The use of radioactive tracers in the determination of irreciprocal permeability of biological membranes.

1960 K. Esau Anat. Seed Plants xiv. 182 Studies involving use of radioactive tracers support this concept of a quiescent center.

2002 Time 17 July 81/4 Italian researchers have tracked the rate at which a radioactive tracer ‘washes out’ of patients' tumors, and found that those with low wash-out rates respond better to chemo.

radioactive waste n. waste material that is radioactive, esp. spent nuclear fuel.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > radioactive waste

radioactive waste1947

nuclear waste1956

radwaste1964

1947 C. D. Coryell in C. Goodman Sci. & Engin. of Nucl. Power I. vii. 249 In general, radioactive wastes from separation processes must be stored indefinitely in systems free from leaks.

1958 Engineering 21 Feb. 236/2 The problem of radioactive waste disposal is finally solved only by the complete natural decay of the constituent fission product activity—a process which may take hundreds of years.

1990 E. Harth Dawn of Millennium (1991) ix. 150 Plans are to construct a cavity about a thousand feet below the surface, to hold up to seventy thousand tons of radioactive waste in sealed canisters.

2004 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 4 Aug. a8/3 The U.S. military shelled Iraq, Bosnia, Serbia, and Afghanistan with over 2,103 tons of radioactive waste in the form of Depleted Uranium (DU) armed ordnance.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	radioactive
释义	radioactiveadj. Brit. /ˌreɪdɪəʊˈaktɪv/, U.S. /ˌreɪdioʊˈæktɪv/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding; modelled on a French lexical item. Etymons: radio- comb. form², active adj. Etymology: < radio- comb. form² + active adj., after French radioactif (P. Curie & M. Sklodowska-Curie 1898, in Comptes rendus hebd. de l'Acad. des Sci. 127 175). 1. Of a substance, object, atomic nucleus, etc.: having an inherent tendency to undergo spontaneous nuclear transformation (decay) involving the emission of ionizing radiation in the form of particles or gamma rays. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [adjective] > affecting photographic plate radioactive1898 the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [adjective] > capable of spontaneous decay radioactive1898 active1899 1898 Nature 28 July 312/1 On a new radio-active substance contained in pitchblende. 1900 19th Cent. Dec. 932 Material particles projected from the radio-active bodies. 1904 E. Rutherford Radio-activity v. 161 This increase of activity is due to the continuous production by the radium of the radio-active emanation or gas. 1904 M. Twain Europe & Elsewhere (1923) xxvi. 332 She ransacks the pitchblende for its radioactive substances. 1913 Q. Rev. July 117 The disintegration of atom after atom of the radio-active element. 1935 Nature 9 Nov. 754/1 The radio~active phosphorus in the urine..was then investigated. 1941 Sci. News Let. 30 Aug. 135/1 His discovery of the radioactive element No. 93, now called neptunium. 1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Nov. p. iv/3 Death waits for us on the zebra crossing; and tomorrow morning's milk may be radio~active. 1959 Daily Tel. 23 Mar. 18/3 The rate of descent from the stratosphere of radio-active debris, including strontium 90, from nuclear explosions. 1966 C. R. Tottle Sci. Engin. Materials i. 23 Almost all elements of atomic number greater than Z = 83 (bismuth) are naturally radioactive. 1969 N. W. Pirie Food Resources v. 127 Marine organisms concentrate several of the radioactive isotopes enormously. 1986 Jrnl. Royal Coll. Physicians 20 111/2 Nuclear medicine uses as its essential ‘tool’ pharmaceuticals labelled with radioactive atoms. 2006 P. Williams Rise & Fall Yummy Mummy xxxi. 216 The fridge is now entirely stocked with locally sourced organics, such is our fear of pumping our darling daughter full of sex hormones, antibiotics and radioactive ingredients. 2. Of a process, phenomenon, etc.: involving or produced by radioactivity; of or relating to radioactivity. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [adjective] radioactive1903 radiative1930 1903 E. Rutherford & F. Soddy in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 5 580 These rays have not yet been sufficiently examined to make any discussion possible of the part they play in radioactive processes. 1906 Nature 25 Oct. 634/1 The escape of the emanation causes a radio-active contamination of the laboratory. 1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity vii. 78 Ions are produced along the tracks of the radioactive rays. 1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. li. 879 When the mineral is heated this helium, which is radio-active in origin, is expelled. 1961 G. R. Choppin Exper. Nucl. Chem. i. 3 The formation of a more stable nucleus as a result of radioactive decay is accompanied by a release of energy. 1977 Nature 10 Mar. 106/1 Even the most resolute proclaimers of radioactive doom seem to have convinced themselves that fusion power will be gentle and on a homely scale. 1995 L. Garrett Coming Plague (new ed.) vi. 174 Lung, liver, and kidney samples..were subjected to radioactive assays for heavy-metal poisoning. 3. figurative. Of a person, place, etc.: emitting or associated with the emission of intense energy, esp. of a dangerous or unstable kind; (also) characterized by gradual self-destruction. Cf. electric adj. 4. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > lively, vivacious, or animated > that rouses or animates rousing1576 radioactive1905 1905 S. Macnaughtan Lame Dog's Diary x. 128 Eliza has found that London is radio-active, hence enjoyable. And Eliza had only been once to the Royal Institution when she said it! 1919 D. H. Lawrence in Eng. Rev. June 477 Our plasmic psyche is radio-active, connecting with all things, and having first-knowledge of all things. 1923 L. P. Smith in S.P.E. Tract (Soc. for Pure Eng.) No. XII. 57 This radio-active quality of popular idiom, this power to give out life and never lose it. 1934 Punch 5 Sept. 280/2 The invalid son, who ultimately comes out at least all even in the contest with the radio-active Audrey. 1955 A. Koestler Trail of Dinosaur 12 The logic of expediency leads to the atomic disintegration of morality, a kind of radioactive decay of all values. 1974 Times 27 May 6/1 His [sc. Byron's] was a radio-active personality that had shattering effects on all who came in contact with him. 1994 Sunday Times 6 Mar. i. 15/1 ‘Radioactive does not even begin to describe the atmosphere in here,’ said one White House official. Compounds radioactive constant n. Physics a number representing the speed of radioactive decay, equal to the probability of a nucleus decaying in unit time; symbol λ; = disintegration constant n. at disintegration n. Compounds 2.The relation between λ and the half-life τ is τ = ^{ln 2}/ _λ. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [noun] > proportion likely to decay radioactive constant1903 1903 E. Rutherford & F. Soddy in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 5 581 The law of radioactive change may therefore be expressed in the one statement—the proportional amount of radioactive matter that changes in unit time is a constant... λ may therefore be suitably called the ‘radioactive constant’. 1942 J. D. Stranathan ‘Particles’ of Mod. Physics viii. 325 (heading) Relationships among the several radioactive constants. 2005 Marine Geol. 214 168/2 λ is the radioactive constant for ¹⁴C. radioactive equilibrium n. Physics a condition in which the quantities of radioactive daughter nuclides in a material remain constant because they are formed from the parent as fast as they decay. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [noun] > stability of daughter decay radioactive equilibrium1904 1904 E. Rutherford Radio-activity vii. 189 In uranium and thorium compounds there is a continuous production of active matter which keeps the compound in radio-active equilibrium. 1946 Physical Rev. 69 672/2 Since the age of the earth is much greater than the life of C¹⁴ a radioactive equilibrium must exist in which the rate of disintegration of C¹⁴ is equal to the rate of production. 1992 Cambr. Encycl. Human Evol. (1994) v. iii. 182/2 An uranium-containing mineral will in time contain each one of the elements in the decay series, in a concentration related to each element's half-life. This condition is termed radioactive equilibrium. radioactive indicator n. Biology and Medicine = radioactive tracer n. ΚΠ 1923 Biochem. Jrnl. 17 439 (title) A contribution to the application of the method of radioactive indicators in the investigation of the change of substance in plants. 1987 European Jrnl. Nucl. Med. 13 28 Various in vitro methods employing radioactive indicators have been presented for the determination of glomerular filtration rate. radioactive series n. Physics a series of radioactive nuclides each member of which decays into the next, together with a non-radioactive end product; the series of transformations relating such a set of nuclides; esp. each of four such series occurring among the nuclides heavier than lead (the thorium, actinium, and radium (or uranium) series, which occur naturally and terminate with different isotopes of lead, and the neptunium series); = series n. 14b. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > [noun] > series series1903 radioactive series1907 1907 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 29 1705 The activity of the equilibrium amount of any member of a radioactive series is proportional to its range. 1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity xxiv. 184 The element thorium is the parent element of a radioactive series. 1956 I. Asimov Inside Atom v. 85 The entire set of changes is an example of a radioactive series. This particular one we have been talking about is the uranium-238 series. 1997 C. Clark Radium Girls, Women & Industr. Health Reform 1 As radium decayed through its radioactive series, it produced radon, a radioactive gas, most of which would have been exhaled. radioactive tracer n. Biology and Medicine a radionuclide or radioactively labelled substance used as a tracer (tracer n.¹ 2c). ΚΠ 1940 Biol. Bull. 79 342 (title) The use of radioactive tracers in the determination of irreciprocal permeability of biological membranes. 1960 K. Esau Anat. Seed Plants xiv. 182 Studies involving use of radioactive tracers support this concept of a quiescent center. 2002 Time 17 July 81/4 Italian researchers have tracked the rate at which a radioactive tracer ‘washes out’ of patients' tumors, and found that those with low wash-out rates respond better to chemo. radioactive waste n. waste material that is radioactive, esp. spent nuclear fuel. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > radioactive waste radioactive waste1947 nuclear waste1956 radwaste1964 1947 C. D. Coryell in C. Goodman Sci. & Engin. of Nucl. Power I. vii. 249 In general, radioactive wastes from separation processes must be stored indefinitely in systems free from leaks. 1958 Engineering 21 Feb. 236/2 The problem of radioactive waste disposal is finally solved only by the complete natural decay of the constituent fission product activity—a process which may take hundreds of years. 1990 E. Harth Dawn of Millennium (1991) ix. 150 Plans are to construct a cavity about a thousand feet below the surface, to hold up to seventy thousand tons of radioactive waste in sealed canisters. 2004 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 4 Aug. a8/3 The U.S. military shelled Iraq, Bosnia, Serbia, and Afghanistan with over 2,103 tons of radioactive waste in the form of Depleted Uranium (DU) armed ordnance. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.1898
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