curie

A unit of measurement of radioactivity, 3.70 ×10¹⁰ disintegrations per second; formerly defined as the radioactivity of the amount of radon in equilibrium with 1 gm. of radium; superseded by the S.I. unit, the becquerel (1 disintegration per second). [Marie (1867–1934) and Pierre (1859–1906) C., French chemists and physicists and Nobel laureates]

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cu·rie 'kyu̇(ə)r-(.)ē, kyu̇-'rē n

1) a unit quantity of any radioactive nuclide in which 3.7 × 10¹⁰ disintegrations occur per second

2) a unit of radioactivity equal to 3.7 × 10¹⁰ disintegrations per second

Cu·rie kue-rē Pierre (1859-1906) and Marie Slodowska (1867-1934)

French chemists and physicists. The Curies were two of the most important and influential figures in modern physics. Their major joint contributions include the discovery, with Henri Becquerel, of radioactivity, and the discovery and isolation of radium and polonium in 1898. In 1910 the first International Congress of Radiology honored the husband and wife team by establishing curie as a term for a unit of measurement for radioactivity. The element curium was named in honor of the Curies in 1944 by its discoverers, a team of scientists at the University of Chicago. The Curies were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, and Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911.

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n.

a former unit for expressing the activity of a radioactive substance. It has been replaced by the becquerel. Symbol: Ci.

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cu·rie (Ci) (kuґre) [Marie Sklodowska Curie, Polish-born chemist and physicist in France, 1867–1934, and Pierre Curie, French chemist and physicist, 1859–1906, Nobel prize winners] a unit of radioactivity, defined as the quantity of any radioactive nuclide in which the number of disintegrations per second is 3.700 Ч 10¹⁰. Formerly abbreviated c.