衰变

衰變
shuāibiàn
noun #37,715

Meanings

  1. 1 radioactive decay
  2. 2 decay (of a particle or unstable nucleus)

Examples

Yóu èr sān bā de bàn shuāibiàn qī fēicháng cháng.
Uranium-238 has a very long half-life.
Zhè zhǒng lìzǐ huì zìfā shuāibiàn chéng qīngzǐ.
This particle spontaneously decays into leptons.

Tips

usage
Physics term — covers both nuclear decay (α, β, γ types) and particle decay generally. The crucial compound is (bàn-shuāiqī, "half-decay-period") = half-life, fundamental in nuclear physics, geology (carbon dating), and pharmacology (drug clearance times).
memory
(decline) + (change) — the change that's a decline. Don't confuse the verb sense with general 衰退 (shuāituì, "decline" of an economy) — 衰变 is strictly the physics meaning.

Stroke Order

shuāi
biàn