alpha track

adjective

: designed to measure and record radon levels by creating a graphic record of the alpha particles that are emitted as radon undergoes radioactive decay

alpha track detectors

Detection of radon in the home can be accomplished with charcoal canisters, ion detectors, and alpha track monitors available from most health departments or extension agents …

—Kathryn Hilgenkamp, Environmental Health: Ecological Perspectives, 2005

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1949, in the meaning defined above

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