Half Life

Pronunciation: /hæf laɪf/

Definitions of half life

noun the time required for half the amount of a substance to be eliminated or disintegrate

Example Sentences

A1 The half life of a radioactive substance is the time it takes for half of the atoms to decay.

A2 Students in the chemistry class learned about the concept of half life in their last lesson.

B1 Understanding the half life of medications is important for healthcare professionals.

B2 Scientists use the concept of half life to determine the age of ancient artifacts.

C1 The half life of carbon-14 is used in radiocarbon dating to estimate the age of archaeological samples.

C2 Researchers conducted a study to analyze the half life of certain elements in a controlled environment.

Examples of half life in a Sentence

formal The half life of a radioactive substance is the time taken for half of its atoms to decay.

informal I heard that the half life of that medication is only a few hours.

slang Dude, the half life of that energy drink is like, 10 minutes tops.

figurative The half life of a trend on social media is getting shorter and shorter these days.

Grammatical Forms of half life

• plural: half lives
• comparative: more half life
• superlative: most half life
• present tense: half life
• future tense: will have half life
• perfect tense: has had half life
• continuous tense: is having half life
• singular: half life
• positive degree: half life
• infinitive: to have half life
• gerund: having half life
• participle: had half life

Origin and Evolution of half life

First Known Use: 1907 year

Language of Origin: English

Story behind the word: The term 'half life' originated in the field of physics to describe the time it takes for half of a quantity of a radioactive substance to decay.

Evolution of the word: Originally used in the context of radioactivity, the term 'half life' has since been adopted in various fields including biology, medicine, and economics to describe the concept of decay or decrease over time.