Becquerel

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

/ ˌbɛk əˈrɛl; French bɛkəˈrɛl /

noun

A·lex·an·dre Ed·mond

[a-lek-sahn-druh ed-mawn] /a lɛkˈsɑ̃ drə ɛdˈmɔ̃/, 1820–91, French physicist (son of Antoine César).

An·toine Cé·sar

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

An·toine Hen·ri

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for becquerel

Shortly after Becquerel's discovery, experiments proved that salts of the rare metal thorium are radio-active.
The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry|M. M. Pattison Muir
The phenomena of radioactivity were discovered accidentally in 1896 by the French chemist Becquerel.
Q. E. D., or New Light on the Doctrine of Creation|George McCready Price
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
In 1896, Becquerel found that compounds of uranium, and also the metal itself, are radio-active.
The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry|M. M. Pattison Muir

These rays are often called Becquerel rays in honor of their discoverer.
Physics|Willis Eugene Tower

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

Medicine definitions for becquerel

becquerel

[ bĕ-krĕl′, bĕk′ə-rĕl′ ]

n.

A unit of measurement of radioactivity, equal to one disintegration per second.

Science 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.

Science 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.