Definitions of half-life [ˌlaɪvz]

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Definition of 'half-life'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (n.) half-life
the time required for one half the atoms of a given amount of a radioactive substance to decay.

2. half-life
the time required for the activity of a substance taken into the body to lose one half its initial effectiveness.

Etymology: (1905–10)

Definition of 'half-life'

Princeton's WordNet

1. (noun) half life, half-life
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)

Definition of 'half-life'

U.S. National Library of Medicine

1. half-life
The time it takes for a substance (drug, radioactive nuclide, or other) to lose half of its pharmacologic, physiologic, or radiologic activity.

Definition of 'half-life'

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

1. half-life
The time required for the activity of a given radioactive species to decrease to half of its initial value due to radioactive decay. The half-life is a characteristic property of each radioactive species and is independent of its amount or condition. The effective half-life of a given isotope is the time in which the quantity in the body will decrease to half as a result of both radioactive decay and biological elimination.

'half-life' - Nearby Entries
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