radium

[rey-dee-uh m] /ˈreɪ di əm/
noun
1.
Chemistry. a highly radioactive metallic element whose decay yields radon gas and alpha rays. Symbol: Ra; atomic weight: 226; atomic number: 88.
2.
a lustrous rayon or silk fabric constructed in plain weave and used in women's apparel, lining, and drapery.
Origin
1895-1900; < Neo-Latin, equivalent to Latin rad(ius) ray (see radius) + -ium -ium
Examples from the web for radium
  • If you have old-fashioned luminous dials on your clocks they were made using radium, the glow was radiation.
  • Discovered that uranium emits radiation naturally, and isolated two new radioactive elements-polonium and radium.
  • Or all the radium poisonings back when radiation was fashionable.
  • In her work, she established the nature of radiation and beta rays, and discovered and isolated polonium and radium.
  • UP to the time of the discovery of radium anthracite coal represented about the highest known degree of stored energy.
British Dictionary definitions for radium

radium

/ˈreɪdɪəm/
noun
1.
  1. a highly radioactive luminescent white element of the alkaline earth group of metals. It occurs in pitchblende, carnotite, and other uranium ores, and is used in radiotherapy and in luminous paints. Symbol: Ra; atomic no: 88; half-life of most stable isotope, 226Ra: 1620 years; valency: 2; relative density: 5; melting pt: 700°C; boiling pt: 1140°C
  2. (as modifier): radium needle
Word Origin
C20: from Latin radius ray
Word Origin and History for radium
n.

radioactive metallic element, 1899, from French radium, named 1898 after identification by Marie Curie and her husband, formed in Modern Latin from Latin radius "ray" (see radius). So called for its power of emitting energy in the form of rays.

radium in Medicine

radium ra·di·um (rā'dē-əm)
n.
Symbol Ra
A luminescent, highly radioactive metallic element found in minute amounts in uranium ores, used as a neutron source for some research purposes, and formerly used in cancer radiotherapy; its most stable isotope is Ra 226 with a half-life of 1,622 years. Atomic number 88; melting point 700°C; boiling point 1,140°C; valence 2.

radium in Science
radium
  (rā'dē-əm)   
Symbol Ra
A rare, bright-white, highly radioactive element of the alkaline-earth group. It occurs naturally in very small amounts in ores and minerals containing uranium, and it is naturally luminescent. Radium is used as a source of radon gas for the treatment of disease and as a neutron source for scientific research. Its most stable isotope is Ra 226 with a half-life of 1,622 years. Atomic number 88; melting point 700°C; boiling point 1,737°C; valence 2. See Periodic Table.
radium in Culture

radium definition


A naturally occurring radioactive chemical element. Its symbol is Ra.

Note: Radium was discovered by the chemists Marie and Pierre Curie.