Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A naturally or artificially produced radioactive isotope of an element.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun physics a radioactive isotope of an element

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a radioactive isotope of an element; produced either naturally or artificially

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The NASA probes use so-called radioisotope thermoelectric generators

    unknown title 2009

  • The NASA probes use so-called radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) which transform heat emitted from naturally decaying plutonium into electricity.

    Reuters: Top News 2009

  • Gary Bennett considers the more conventional power plants, such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators and fusion systems.

    Frontiers of Propulsion Science « dudegalea 2009

  • While polonium-210 does have civilian applications (such as radioisotope batteries), it can theoretically be used for initiating the fission chain reactions that result in a nuclear explosion.

    MyAntiwar.org 2008

  • While polonium-210 does have civilian applications (such as radioisotope batteries), it can theoretically be used for initiating the fission chain reactions that result in a nuclear explosion.

    MyAntiwar.org 2008

  • If the radioisotope signatures from the Camp Cobra explosion are similar to those from the Iranian test in the Kavir Desert, we can conclude that the same nuclear fuel was used in both cases.

    The Omega Theory Mark Alpert 2011

  • “The radioisotope signature is identical to the fallout from the Iranian nuclear test.”

    The Omega Theory Mark Alpert 2011

  • The radioisotope signatures are as unique as fingerprints.

    The Omega Theory Mark Alpert 2011

  • Raw data (like tree-ring thickness, radioisotope of mud layers in a lake bottom, ice core analyses, etc.) are used as a proxy for reconstruction of the temperature record for 1000 AD to 1960 AD.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Pretty Good Climategate Summary 2009

  • Resuming production saves these missions in the future, and allows us to consider use of radioisotope power on crewed missions (although we still won't have very much).

    NASA Running Low on Pu 238 - Production to Restart - NASA Watch 2009

Comments

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  • Wow, I forgot all about this cool word!

    October 19, 2007

  • The "ioi" is pretty disconcerting when parsing.

    October 19, 2007