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half-life Definition

half·-life (-līf′)

noun

the constant time period required for the disintegration of half of the atoms in a sample of some specific radioactive substance

half-life Finance Definition
The point at which half of the principal has been repaid in a mortgage-backed security. A typical time assumed for half-life is 12 years. If interest rates fall, that time decreases because more homeowners will refinance their mortgages, which will have the effect of paying off the principal more quickly than normal. If interest rates rise and refinancing slows, then the inverse is true.
half-life Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • hour: LAAM has a half-life of 72 hours and can be used three times a week.
  • drug: There is wide variability in the half-life of the drug.
  • minute: Esmolol is a very short acting agent with an average half-life of 9 minutes in adults.
  • year: A half-life of 6.5 years has been reported for seed survival in soil.
  • levodopa: The short half-life of levodopa ( 1.5 hrs ) is implicated in the development of disabling dyskinesias.
  • caffeine: CAFFEINE Taken during pregnancy, it appears that the half-life of caffeine is prolonged.

Converse of object

  • have: Seed in soil has a half-life of 3 months.
  • increase: Increasing the half-life of Cytotec would overcome this problem.

Adjective modifier

  • prolonged: Results show that CAT-192 appears well tolerated, with a prolonged half-life of around 40 days in healthy volunteers.
  • terminal: The terminal plasma half-life in these patients was 3.8 hours.
  • apparent: The range of observed apparent half-lives is broad, the apparent terminal half-life is generally in the range of 10 - 72 hours.
  • short: Owing to its short half-life, its presence in the human body cannot be measured directly.
  • biological: The time taken to reduce the concentration of a substance in the body to 50 % is known as its biological half-life.
  • long: To achieve a longer half-life various techniques may be adopted.

Modifies a noun

  • mod: Gecko 17-09-2005, 21:39 Both half-life mods i work for are opengl specific.
  • texture: This map proved to be somewhat strange, considering that it is entirely made up of half-life textures.

Noun used with modifier

  • elimination: The elimination half-life varies from about 1 to 4 hours.
  • plasma: The terminal plasma half-life in these patients was 3.8 hours.
  • serum: The serum half-life is estimated to be about 6 hours.
  • terminal: In patients with chronic renal failure the mean terminal half-life was found to be 19.5 hours.