alpha ray

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a stream of alpha particles.

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alpha ray British  

noun

1. ionizing radiation consisting of a stream of alpha particles

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alpha ray Scientific  

1. A stream of alpha particles.

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Etymology

Origin of alpha ray

First recorded in 1900–05

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alpha ray

This is due to the bombardment of the zinc sulphide by a type of ray called the alpha ray.

From A Brief Account of Radio-activity by Francis Preston Venable

The fundamental criterion of radioactive change is the expulsion of the alpha ray.

From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by John Joly

When an alpha ray is discharged from the transforming element into a gaseous medium its velocity is rapidly checked and its energy absorbed.

From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by John Joly

We must conclude that the effect of the ionisation due to the alpha ray has not been to alter fundamentally the conditions which give rise to the optical properties of the medium.

From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by John Joly

But in point of fact the ionisation due to an alpha ray is sui generis.

From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by John Joly

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