Decay may refer to:

Science and technology

* Bit decay, in computing *

Software decay Software rot (bit rot, code rot, software erosion, software decay, or software entropy) is either a slow deterioration of software quality over time or its diminishing responsiveness that will eventually lead to software becoming faulty, unusabl ...

, in computing * Distance decay, in geography * Decay time (fall time), in electronics

Biology

* Decomposition of organic matter * Tooth decay (dental caries), in dentistry *

Mitochondrial decay A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and Fungus, fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosi ...

, in genetics

Physics

Orbital decay Orbital decay is a gradual decrease of the distance between two orbiting bodies at their closest approach (the periapsis) over many orbital periods. These orbiting bodies can be a planet and its satellite, a star and any object orbiting it, or ...

, the process of prolonged reduction in the height of a satellite's orbit * Particle decay *

Radioactive decay Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...

Optical decay Optical decay is process of relaxation of excitation of an excited quantum system, usually due to the spontaneous emission of a photon or a phonon. Optical decay is dominant mechanism of quenching of excitation of active optical media. In solid-sta ...

, in quantum physics

Mathematics

Exponential decay A quantity is subject to exponential decay if it decreases at a rate proportional to its current value. Symbolically, this process can be expressed by the following differential equation, where is the quantity and (lambda) is a positive rate ...

Psychology and sociology

Decay theory The Decay theory is a theory that proposes that memory fades due to the mere passage of time. Information is therefore less available for later retrieval as time passes and memory, as well as memory strength, wears away. When an individual learns so ...

, in psychology and memory *

Social decay The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members o ...

(decadence), in sociology * Urban decay, in sociology

Entertainment

Network decay Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

(channel drift), in television programming *

Decay (DC Comics) Decay is the name of three fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The first was an enemy of the pre-Crisis Supergirl, while the second appeared as a villain in the ''Wonder Woman'' comic book series. The third version appeared in the New 52 as ...

, a comic book character * '' Half-Life: Decay'', a 2001 video game add-on * Deekay, a Danish production team * Decay (professional wrestling), a professional wrestling stable in TNA Wrestling

Film

* ''Decay'' (2012 film), a 2012 zombie film set at the Large Hadron Collider * ''Decay'' (2015 film), a 2015 American film

Music

* how quickly the sound drops to the sustain level after the initial peak, see

ADSR envelope ADSR may refer to: * ADSR envelope (attack decay sustain release), a common type of music envelope * Accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor, a nuclear reactor using a particle accelerator to generate a fission reaction in a sub-critical assembly ...

* "Decay" (Ride song) * "Decay" (Biohazard song) * "Decay" (Sevendust song), 2013 * '' Decay Music'', 1976 music album by Michael Nyman * '' The Years of Decay'', music album by Overkill (band) * ''

In Decay ''In Decay'' is a compilation album by American electronic musician Seth Haley's project Com Truise, released on July 16, 2012, by the independent record label Ghostly International. It is a collection of tracks that, prior to the release, we ...

'', 2012 album by Com Truise

Other

Beta decay (finance) In finance, the beta (β or market beta or beta coefficient) is a measure of how an individual asset moves (on average) when the overall stock market increases or decreases. Thus, beta is a useful measure of the contribution of an individual a ...