Were did the name "Half-Life" come from?

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I know that it is the amount of time for somthing to become half of what it is at the start or interval of a mesaurment, but I dout that is the case with the name Half Life for a game.

I was never a fan of the original Half Life so I havent presued the issue until now. I am wondering does the name has somthing to do with a character, with the story, or is related to the game(s) at all. Or did the name evolve from somthing not related to it? Did Gabe just draw it out of a hat?

 

[Asknoone]

It's a scientific name...the amount of time it takes for radiation to decay in the enviroment. Or something.

But we've had it before. Locked.