Becquerel

[ bek-uh-rel; French bekuh-rel ]

/ ˌbɛk əˈrɛl; French bɛkəˈrɛl /

Save This Word!

noun

A·lex·an·dre Ed·mond

[a-lek-sahn-druhed-mawn], /a lɛkˈsɑ̃ drəɛdˈmɔ̃/, 1820–91, French physicist (son of Antoine César).

An·toine Cé·sar

[ahn-twansey-zar], /ɑ̃ˈtwan seɪˈzar/, 1788–1878, French physicist.

An·toine Hen·ri

[ahn-twanahn-ree], /ɑ̃ˈtwan ɑ̃ˈri/, 1852–1908, French physicist (son of Alexandre Edmond): Nobel Prize 1903.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby Becquerel

becloud, become, become of, becoming, Bécquer, Becquerel, Becquerel effect, Becquerel rays, crazy about, be, becripple, crystal clear, be

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Becquerel in a sentence

M. Becquerel is (so far as I can learn) the only observer who has taken up the elucidation of this subject.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XXII (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
"Truth on this side of the Pyrenees, error on the other side," M. Levy asserts; and Becquerel adds that it is not a science.
Bouvard and Pcuchet|Gustave Flaubert
These results, as well as the spectra obtained, he stated further, corroborated Becquerel's observations.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 613, October 1, 1887|Various
Professor Becquerel was the first one to suggest that it might possess therapeutic or healing powers.
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV. (of IV.)|Grant Hague

Then Becquerel was next visited, but he was nearly blind and could see nothing in the new optical toy.
Inventions in the Century|William Henry Doolittle

British Dictionary definitions for Becquerel (1 of 2)

becquerel

/ (ˌbɛkəˈrɛl) /

noun

the derived SI unit of radioactivity equal to one disintegration per secondSymbol: Bq

Word Origin for becquerel

C20: named after Antoine Henri Becquerel

British Dictionary definitions for Becquerel (2 of 2)

Becquerel

/ (French bɛkrɛl) /

noun

Antoine Henri (ɑ̃twan ɑ̃ri). 1852–1908, French physicist, who discovered the photographic action of the rays emitted by uranium salts and so instigated the study of radioactivity: Nobel prize for physics 1903

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Becquerel (1 of 2)

becquerel

[ bĕ-krĕl′, bĕk′ə-rĕl′ ]

The SI derived unit used to measure the rate of radioactive decay. When the nucleus of an atom emits nucleons (protons and/or neutrons) and is thereby transformed into a different nucleus, decay has occurred. A decay rate of one becquerel for a given quantity means there is one such atomic transformation per second.

Scientific definitions for Becquerel (2 of 2)

Becquerel

Family of French physicists, including Antoine César (1788-1878), one of the founders of the science of electrochemistry; his son Alexandre Edmond (1820-1891), noted for his research on phosphorescence, magnetism, electricity, and optics; and his grandson Antoine Henri (1852-1908), who discovered spontaneous radioactivity in uranium. Antoine Henri Becquerel's work led to the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie, with whom he shared the 1903 Nobel Prize for physics.