nuclear radiation

[noo-klee-er rey-dee-ey-shuhn, nyoo-]

noun

1. Physics.,  radiation in the form of elementary particles emitted by an atomic nucleus, as alpha rays or gamma rays, produced by decay of radioactive substances or by nuclear fission.

Pronunciation Note

See nuclear ( def. ).

Example Sentences

She wrote about these harms in a vivid and terrifying illustration using another global fear at the time: nuclear radiation.

From Slate

It’s a question that the residents of Vault 4 — a subterranean bunker safe beneath the surface of California, still teeming with nuclear radiation 219 years after the Great War of 2077 — had obviously considered.

From Salon

—Dawn Chapman for years has advocated for the cleanup of nuclear radiation around St. Louis.

From Seattle Times

Back in 1954, just nine years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese filmmaker Ishirō Honda and special effects designer Eiji Tsuburaya dreamed up a giant dinosaur-like creature that came from the depths of the ocean, mutated by nuclear radiation, a “kaiju” named Godzilla.

From Los Angeles Times

Nuclear radiation can damage living cells partially or completely, sometimes resulting in cancer.

From BBC