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millicurie

millicurie

9.3
A small measure of how radioactive something is, equal to one thousandth of a curie
  • noun
  • /ˌmɪlɪˈkjʊəri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : milicurie
  • One millicurie is equal to one thousandth of a curie.

Examples

  • The radioactive sample measured 5 millicuries, making it suitable for medical use.

  • Safety guidelines recommend not handling sources above ten millicuries without protection.

  • Researchers used a dose of 0.2 millicurie in the experiment.

  • The sample contained 5 millicuries of radioactive material.

  • Researchers used a dose of 0.2 millicurie in the experiment to measure its radioactivity.

  • Safety guidelines recommend not handling sources above ten millicuries without protective equipment due to radiation risks.

  • The radioactive sample measured 5 millicuries, indicating it was suitable for medical applications.

How Radioactive

curie
  • Archaic
1 9.7
millicurie
  • Specialized
9.3
microcurie
  • Specialized
7.7

Surface Forms

millicurie singular
millicuries plural

Morphology

millicurie = curie (transparent) = milli + curie + milli

The standard SI prefix 'milli-' meaning one-thousandth combines productively with the unit 'curie' to denote one thousandth of a curie.

Etymology

Millicurie joins the part milli- meaning 'one thousandth' and curie, named for the scientist Marie Curie who studied radioactivity. Think of millimeter to remember that milli- means very small, so a millicurie is 'one thousandth' of a curie, a common unit for measuring radioactivity.