Curiosity › Science › Physics › Why radioactive has 'radio' in it? What does it have to do with radio waves? › Reply To: Why radioactive has 'radio' in it? What does it have to do with radio waves?
In the word ‘radioactive’, the word ‘radio’ stands for ‘radiation’. If a substance is radioactive, it means that it is actively radiating alpha (helium nuclei) and beta particles (electron) and high-frequency electromagnetic waves of the spectrum (gamma rays) away. Radioactivity has nothing to do with radio waves.