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Measuring Radiation Unit

This document discusses different units used to measure radiation, including curie, becquerel, rad, gray, rem, and sievert. It explains that the amount of radiation emitted by a radioactive source is measured in curies or becquerels, the radiation dose absorbed by a person is measured in rads or grays, and biological risk is measured in rems or sieverts. Radiation exposures from common sources like flights, dental x-rays, and natural background radiation are provided for comparison.

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Asif Imtiaz
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58 views4 pages

Measuring Radiation Unit

This document discusses different units used to measure radiation, including curie, becquerel, rad, gray, rem, and sievert. It explains that the amount of radiation emitted by a radioactive source is measured in curies or becquerels, the radiation dose absorbed by a person is measured in rads or grays, and biological risk is measured in rems or sieverts. Radiation exposures from common sources like flights, dental x-rays, and natural background radiation are provided for comparison.

Uploaded by

Asif Imtiaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Measuring Radiation

When scientists measure radiation, they use different terms depending on


whether they are discussing radiation coming from a radioactive source, the
radiation dose absorbed by a person, or the risk that a person will suffer
health effects (biological risk) from exposure to radiation. This fact sheet
explains some of the terminology used to discuss radiation measurement.

Units of Measure
Most scientists in the international community measure radiation using the
System Internationale (SI), a uniform system of weights and measures that
evolved from the metric system. In the United States, however, the
conventional system of measurement is still widely used.

Different units of measure are used depending on what aspect of radiation is


being measured. For example, the amount of radiation being given off, or
emitted, by a radioactive material is measured using the conventional
unit curie (Ci), named for the famed scientist Marie Curie, or the SI
unit becquerel (Bq). The radiation dose absorbed by a person (that is, the
amount of energy deposited in human tissue by radiation) is measured using
the conventional unit rad or the SI unit gray (Gy). The biological risk of
exposure to radiation is measured using the conventional unit rem or the SI
unit sievert (Sv).

Measuring Emitted Radiation


When the amount of radiation being emitted or given off is discussed, the
unit of measure used is the conventional unit Ci or the SI unit Bq.

A radioactive atom gives off or emits radioactivity because the nucleus has
too many particles, too much energy, or too much mass to be stable. The
nucleus breaks down, or disintegrates, in an attempt to reach a
nonradioactive (stable) state. As the nucleus disintegrates, energy is released
in the form of radiation.
The Ci or Bq is used to express the number of disintegrations of radioactive
atoms in a radioactive material over a period of time. For example, one Ci is
equal to 37 billion (37 X 10 ) disintegrations per second. The Ci is being
9

replaced by the Bq. Since one Bq is equal to one disintegration per second,
one Ci is equal to 37 billion (37 X 10 ) Bq.
9

Ci or Bq may be used to refer to the amount of radioactive materials


released into the environment. For example, during the Chernobyl power
plant accident that took place in the former Soviet Union, an estimated total
of 81 million Ci of radioactive cesium (a type of radioactive material) was
released.

Measuring Radiation Dose


When a person is exposed to radiation, energy is deposited in the tissues of
the body. The amount of energy deposited per unit of weight of human
tissue is called the absorbed dose. Absorbed dose is measured using the
conventional rad or the SI Gy.

The rad, which stands for radiation absorbed dose, was the conventional unit
of measurement, but it has been replaced by the Gy. One Gy is equal to 100
rad.

Measuring Biological Risk


A person’s biological risk (that is, the risk that a person will suffer health
effects from an exposure to radiation) is measured using the conventional
unit rem or the SI unit Sv.

To determine a person’s biological risk, scientists have assigned a number to


each type of ionizing radiation (alpha and beta particles, gamma rays, and x-
rays) depending on that type’s ability to transfer energy to the cells of the
body. This number is known as the Quality Factor (Q).

When a person is exposed to radiation, scientists can multiply the dose in rad
by the quality factor for the type of radiation present and estimate a person’s
biological risk in rems. Thus, risk in rem = rad X Q.
The rem has been replaced by the Sv. One Sv is equal to 100 rem.

Abbreviations for Radiation Measurements


Abbreviations for Radiation Measurements Table 1
Prefix Equal to How Much Is That? Abbreviation Example
atto- 1 X 10
-18
.000000000000000001  a  aCi
femto- 1 X 10
-15
.000000000000001  f  fCi
pico- 1 X 10
-12
.000000000001  p  pCi
nano- 1 X 10
-9
.000000001  n  nCi
micro- 1 X 10
-6
.000001  µ  µCi
milli- 1 X 10
-3
.001  m  mCi
centi- 1 X 10
-2
.01  c  cSv
When the amounts of radiation being measured are less than 1, prefixes are
attached to the unit of measure as a type of shorthand. This is called
scientific notation and is used in many scientific fields, not just for measuring
radiation. The table below shows the prefixes for radiation measurement
and their associated numeric notations.

When the amount to be measured is 1000 (that is, 1 X 10 ) or higher, prefixes


3

are attached to the unit of measure to shorten very large numbers (also
scientific notation). The table below shows the prefixes used in radiation
measurement and their associated numeric notations.

Abbreviations for Radiation Measurements Table 2


Prefix Equal to How Much Is That? Abbreviation Example
kilo- 1 X 10
3
1000  k  kCi
mega- 1 X 10
6
1,000,000  M  MCi
giga- 1 X 10
9
100,000,000  G  GBq
tera- 1 X 10
12
100,000,000,000  T  TBq
peta- 1 X 10
15
100,000,000,000,000  P  PBq
exa- 1 X 10
18
100,000,000,000,000,000  E  EBq

Common Radiation Exposures


People are exposed to radiation daily from different sources, such as
naturally occurring radioactive materials in the soil and cosmic rays from
outer space (of which we receive more when we fly in an airplane). Some
common ways that people are exposed to radiation and the associated
doses are shown in the table below.

Source of exposure Dose in rem Dose in sievert (Sv)

Exposure to cosmic rays during a roundtrip airplane flight from New York to
Los Angeles 3 mrem 0.03 mSv

One dental x-ray 5 mrem 0.05 mSv

One chest x-ray 10 mrem 0.1 mSv

One mammogram 70 mrem 0.7 mSv

One year of exposure to natural radiation (from soil, cosmic rays, etc.) 300
mrem 3 mSv

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