rad

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a non-SI unit of absorbed ionizing-radiation dose equal to 0.01 gray, or 100 ergs per gram

   The researchers reported the absorbed dose in rad rather than gray.

2. 2
   adj

   excellent, impressive, or exciting

   The skateboarder landed a rad new trick at the competition.

3. 3
   noun

   a written abbreviation for radian, a unit of plane angle

   The phase angle was recorded as 1.2 rad.

The radiation unit was named in 1953 from the initial letters of radiation absorbed dose. The informal adjective is a clipping of radical, while the angle notation rad abbreviates radian.

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