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Rad Units

The document discusses various units used to measure radiation and dose. The rad and rem were commonly used but are being replaced by the gray and sievert as SI units, where 100 rem = 1 Sv and 100 rad = 1 Gy. The becquerel measures radioactivity as disintegrations per second, while the curie is an older unit equal to 37 billion becquerels. The roentgen measures exposure to radiation in coulombs per kilogram of air.

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89 views1 page

Rad Units

The document discusses various units used to measure radiation and dose. The rad and rem were commonly used but are being replaced by the gray and sievert as SI units, where 100 rem = 1 Sv and 100 rad = 1 Gy. The becquerel measures radioactivity as disintegrations per second, while the curie is an older unit equal to 37 billion becquerels. The roentgen measures exposure to radiation in coulombs per kilogram of air.

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muayad73
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Measurement of Radiation /Dose

Note: The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements propose the use of the rad in favor of
the gray (Gy), a unit 100 times larger.   Similarly, the rem is to be replaced by the sievert (Sv), again so that 100
rem = 1 Sv.  

Rad (rad) - Common Unit::


The rad represents a certain dose of energy absorbed by 1 gram of tissue.    It is a unit of concentration.   So if we
could uniformly expose the entire body to radiation, the number of rads received would be the same whether we
were speaking of a single cell, an organ or the entire body.

Rem (rem)- Common Unit::


Some forms of radiation are more efficient than others transferring their energy to the cell.    To have a level
playing field, it is convenient to multiply the dose in rads by a quality factor (Q) for each type of radiation.    The
resulting unit is the rem ("roentgen-equivalent man").    Thus, rem = rad x Q. X rays and gamma rays have a Q
about 1, so the absorbed dose in rads is the same number in rems.   Neutrons have a Q of about 5 and alpha
particles have a Q of about 20.   An absorbed dose of, say, 1 rad of these is equivalent to 5 rem and 20 rem
respectively.

Becquerel (Bq)-SI unit:


The unit of radioactivity.   One Bq is 1 disintegration per second (dps).   One curie is 37 x 10 9 Bq.   Since the Bq
represents such a small amount, you are likely to see a prefix used with Bq e.g. 37 GBq = 1 curie.

Curie:(Ci)- Common unit


A measure of the activity of the radioactive material.    (One Curie is equivalent of 3.7 x 10 10 disintegrations per
second).

Roentgen (R)- Common Unit:


A special unit used for measuring exposure to radiation.   (2.58 x 10-4 coulomb per kilogram of air)

Gray (Gy)- Si Unit:


A quantity of energy imparted by ionizing radiation to a unit mass of matter.   A gray (abbreviated as Gy) is the
amount of energy deposited in tissues; technically, 1 joule of energy per kilogram of tissue

Sievert (Sv)-SI Unit:


A unit of radiation dose that is used for radiation protection purposes. When an individual is exposed to mixed
sources of radiation, the total biologically effective dose is calculated by multiplying the physical dose (expressed
in units called gray) of each kind of radiation by a corresponding factor (called a quality factor or Q factor)
specified for the type of radiation and its energy, after which these amounts are added together.   The factor for
gamma rays is 1; therefore, 1 Sv = 1 Gy. The factor for the neutrons in atomic-bomb radiation is 10; therefore, 1
Sv = 0.1 Gy.

Coulomb/kilogram (C/kg):
Measure of exposure replacing the reontgen. 1 coulomb/kilogram (C/kg) = 3,880 roentgens

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