radioactive material
16
5.1
- noun
- /ˌreɪdiəʊˈæktɪv məˈtɪəriəl/
- Specialized
:
material radiactivo
- In an emergency, workers must handle radioactive material with extreme caution to avoid exposure.
OK, The nuclear fuel basically, so radioactive materials that might be used in weapons.
- OK, The nuclear fuel basically, so radioactive materials that might be used in weapons.
- Again, you don't need a nuke, you just need radioactive material to go and smoke around.
Examples
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Apparently, this top part is where more of the radioactive material is kept.
Blog text (20) -
If it ruptures, then you have a potential pathway for radioactive material to leak out.
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A small amount of radioactive material was released into the outside air.
Academic text (1999) -
There is still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out.
Blog text (20) -
Have you had any recent exposure to radioactive materials?
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Container vessel is the "last line of defense" to prevent the release of radioactive material.
Blog text (20) -
In total, those facilities contain approximately 28 million curies of radioactive material.
Academic text (2012) -
The possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear or other radioactive material remains a grave threat.
Blog text (31) -
Aside from the direct release of radioactive materials into the river, the Columbia also received pollution from groundwater.
Academic text (1990) -
The country already has 38,000 kilograms of the radioactive material; by 2020, it will have 145,000 kilograms.
Academic text (2003)
How Radioactive
- Specialized
1
7.8
- Specialized
16
5.1
- Specialized
1
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'radioactive' (emitting radiation) modifies 'material' (a substance), so together they denote a substance that emits radiation. This is a literal adjective+noun combination with no idiomatic shift and is cross-linguistically transparent, so learners who know both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
The phrase radioactive material comes from the idea that some material has tiny parts inside it that give off an invisible energy called 'radiation' when they change. So, radioactive material means a substance that gives off 'radiation' and must be handled with great care.