Half Life (Noun)
Meaning
The time required for something to fall to half its initial value (in particular, the time for half the atoms in a radioactive substance to disintegrate).
Classification
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations.
Examples
- The half-life of the radioactive isotope determines how quickly it loses its potency.
- After one half-life, the initial intensity of the signal has reduced to 50 percent of its original strength.
- Understanding the concept of half-life is essential in predicting the environmental impact of radioactive waste.
- Carbon-14, used in dating organic materials, has a half-life of about 5,730 years.
- As a radioactive element's half-life comes to an end, the likelihood of disintegration becomes greater, causing rapid degradation of its radioactive properties.