Lexic.us

Definition of Background radiation

1. Noun. Radiation coming from sources other than those being observed.

Definition of Background radiation

1. Noun. ionizing radiation that is naturally present in the environment. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Background radiation

1. Level of environmental radation due to background sources. Background sources can be natural, such as cosmic rays and natural radioactive elements (principally radon, but including other elements such as isotopes of potassium (which people get substantial amounts of in foods like bananas)). They can also be man-made, such as from fossil-fuel combustion, everyday leakage from nuclear activities, and leftover from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. Background radiation is usually distinguished from acute radiation, such as from medical X-rays, nuclear accidents, radioisotope therapy, or other short-term doses. The man-made contribution to background radiation is quite small compared to the natural contribution, medical uses dominate human exposure to acute radiation. (09 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Background Radiation

Literary usage of Background radiation

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Assessment of the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure by National Research Council (U. S.) (2005)
"Natural background radiation All persons are exposed to ionizing radiation ... Sources of background radiation can be outside the body (external radiation) ..."

2. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1883)
"There have been two earlier reports of Above 1000 A the background radiation used to determine the absorption spectra was obtained from a dc discharge ..."

3. Priorities in Space Science Enabled by Nuclear Power And Propulsion by Ssb (2006)
"CIRB: Cosmic infrared background radiation. COBE: The Cosmic Background Explorer, a NASA mission launched in 1989 to study the cosmic background radiation ..."

4. Directory of Federal Laboratory and Technology Resources: A Guide to (1993)
"The COBRA (Cosmic background radiation Anisotropy) instrument will search for and map anisotropies in the Cosmic background radiation at sufficient ..."

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