Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Alpha Particle |
Alpha ParticleNoun1. A positively charged particle that is the nucleus of the helium atom; emitted from natural or radioactive isotopes. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definitions |
Computing | Alpha particle bit rot. Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. |
Aerospace | A positively charged particle emitted from the nuclei of certain atoms during radioactive disintegration. The alpha particle has an atomic weight of 4 and a positive charge equal in magnitude to 2 electronic charges; hence it is essentially a helium nucleus (helium atom stripped of its two planetary electrons). Compare beta particle, gamma ray. (references) |
Energy | A positively charged particle ejected spontaneously from the nuclei of some radioactive elements. It is identical to a helium nucleus that has a mass number of 4 and an electrostatic charge of +2. It has low penetrating power and a short range (a few centimeters in air). The most energetic alpha particle will generally fail to penetrate the dead layers of cells covering the skin and can be easily stopped by a sheet of paper. Alpha particles are hazardous when an alpha-emitting isotope is inside the body. (references) |
Nuclear Energy & Physics | Stable particle having the same bound configuration of 2 protons and 2 neutrons as a helium-4 nucleus and emitted during a nuclear disintegration. By extension, any helium-4 nucleus. Source: European Union. (references) |
Space | A type of fast ion emitted by many types of heavy radioactive nuclei, such as uranium. Actually, the nucleus (atom stripped of all electrons) of the gas helium. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Alpha particles are emitted by radioactive nuclei such as uranium or radium in a process known as alpha decay. This sometimes leaves the nucleus in an excited state, with the emission of a gamma ray removing the excess energy.
Alpha rays are easily absorbed by materials and can travel only a few centimeters in air. They can be absorbed by tissue paper or the outer layers of human skin and so are not generally dangerous to life unless the source is ingested or inhaled. If alpha radiation does enter the body, however, they are the most dangerous form of ionising radiation. They are the most strongly ionizing, and with large enough doses can cause any or all of the symptoms of radiation poisoning.
See also: radioactivity, cosmic rays, nuclear physics, radioactive isotopes, radioactive decay
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alpha particle."
Crosswords: Alpha Particle |
| Specialty definitions using "alpha particle": Alpha-Carbon Reaction ♦ bit rot ♦ directly ionising particle, directly ionizing particle ♦ Gross Alpha/Beta Particle Activity ♦ ion pair ♦ single-event upset. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
alpha particle | 28 |
13 8 alpha particle per relaxation second wakeful | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "alpha particle"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | alfa-partikel. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | alfadeeltje. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | alfahiukkanen. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | particule alpha. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Alpha-Teilchen. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | σωματίδιο άλφα, σωματίδιο α. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | particella alfa. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | アルファ'子 (albumin, alps). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | アルファりゅうし. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | alphaay articlepay partícula alfa. (various references) альфа-частица. (various references) partícula alfa. (various references) alfapartikel. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-a-c-e-h-i-l-l-p-p-r-t" | |
-4 letters: applecart, caliphate, papillate, rachillae, theriacal. | |
-5 letters: achillea, archaeal, arillate, caliphal, calliper, carpalia, chapiter, chappati, claptrap, haptical, heliacal, hepatica, palatial, palliate, papillae, papillar, parhelia, parhelic, parietal, particle, patchier, patellar, phreatic, placater, prechill, prelatic, rachilla, tailrace, theriaca, tracheal. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)41 6C 70 68 61 50 61 72 74 69 63 6C 65 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000001 01101100 01110000 01101000 01100001 00100000 01010000 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101001 01100011 01101100 01100101 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)A l p h a   P a r t i c l e |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0041 006C 0070 0068 0061 0050 0061 0072 0074 0069 0063 006C 0065 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)357882746725067848675697871 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Expressions: Internet | 5. Translations: Modern 6. Anagrams 7. Orthography 8. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
