ALPHA RAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alpha ray mean? 

• ALPHA RAY (noun)
  The noun ALPHA RAY has 1 sense:

1. the radiation of alpha particles during radioactive decay

  Familiarity information: ALPHA RAY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALPHA RAY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The radiation of alpha particles during radioactive decay

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

alpha radiation; alpha ray

Hypernyms ("alpha ray" is a kind of...):

ionizing radiation (high-energy radiation capable of producing ionization in substances through which it passes)

corpuscular radiation; particulate radiation (a stream of atomic or subatomic particles that may be charged positively (e.g. alpha particles) or negatively (e.g. beta particles) or not at all (e.g. neutrons))

 Context examples 

An emission of positively charged particles composed of two protons and two neutrons, i.e., helium nuclei, emitted during disintegration of very heavy isotopes; a beam of alpha particles or an alpha ray has very strong ionizing power, but weak penetrability.

(Alpha Radiation, NCI Thesaurus)