Becquerel

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

noun

1. A·lex·an·dre Ed·mond [a, -lek-, sahn, -d, r, uh, ed-, mawn], 1820–91, French physicist (son of Antoine César).
2. An·toine Cé·sar [ah, n, -, twan, sey-, zar], 1788–1878, French physicist.
3. An·toine Hen·ri [ah, n, -, twan, ah, n, -, ree], 1852–1908, French physicist (son of Alexandre Edmond): Nobel Prize 1903.

Becquerel

¹

/ bɛkrɛl /

noun

1. BecquerelAntoine Henri18521908MFrenchSCIENCE: physicist 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

becquerel

²

/ ˌbɛkəˈrɛl /

noun

1. the derived SI unit of radioactivity equal to one disintegration per second Bq

becquerel

¹

/ bĕ-krĕl′,bĕk′ə-rĕl′ /

1. 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.

Becquerel

²

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Becquerel¹

C20: named after Antoine Henri Becquerel

Example Sentences

M. Becquerel is (so far as I can learn) the only observer who has taken up the elucidation of this subject.

From Project Gutenberg

"Truth on this side of the Pyrenees, error on the other side," M. Levy asserts; and Becquerel adds that it is not a science.

From Project Gutenberg

These results, as well as the spectra obtained, he stated further, corroborated Becquerel's observations.

From Project Gutenberg

Professor Becquerel was the first one to suggest that it might possess therapeutic or healing powers.

From Project Gutenberg

Then Becquerel was next visited, but he was nearly blind and could see nothing in the new optical toy.

From Project Gutenberg