rutherford
a unit for measuring radioactive decay, equal to the mass (of a given substance) required to give off one million disintegrations per second; one million becquerels: symbol, rd
Origin of rutherford
after Ernest RutherfordRutherford
- Baron Rutherford of Nelson 1871-1937; Brit. physicist, born in New Zealand
- 1869-1942; U.S. leader of Jehovah's Witnesses
rutherford
noun
Abbr. rdA unit expressing the rate of decay of radioactive material, equal to one million disintegrations per second, or one million becquerels.
Origin of rutherford
AfterErnest Rutherfordrutherford
Noun
(plural rutherfords)
- An obsolete unit of radioactivity (symbol: rd), defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one million nuclei decay per second.
Origin
After Ernest Rutherford.
Proper noun
- A Scottish habitational surname from a place where there was once a settlement in the Scottish borders.
Origin
Old English hryðer (“cattle") + ford (“ford").
