Skip to main content
Back

Measuring Radioactivity definitions

Control buttons has been changed to "navigation" mode.
1/15
  • Curie
    Equals 3.7 × 10¹⁰ disintegrations per second, used to quantify radioactive decay events.
  • Becquerel
    SI unit for decay events, representing one disintegration per second.
  • Roentgen
    Measures ionizing intensity of gamma and X-rays, equal to 2.1 × 10⁹ charges per cubic centimeter.
  • Rad
    Represents energy absorbed by tissue, equal to 1 × 10⁻⁵ joules per gram.
  • Gray
    SI unit for absorbed dose, equal to one joule per kilogram of tissue.
  • Rem
    Quantifies tissue damage by multiplying absorbed dose by biological effectiveness.
  • Sievert
    SI unit for biological damage, where one equals 100 rems.
  • Relative Biological Effectiveness
    Factor accounting for ionizing intensity and biological effect, varies by radiation type.
  • Decay Event
    Single instance of a radioactive nucleus transforming and emitting radiation.
  • Ionizing Intensity
    Ability of radiation to produce charged particles in a given volume of air.
  • Tissue Damage
    Biological harm resulting from absorbed radiation, influenced by type and amount.
  • Gamma Ray
    High-energy electromagnetic radiation with a relative biological effectiveness of 1.
  • X-ray
    Electromagnetic radiation similar to gamma rays, also with a relative biological effectiveness of 1.
  • Alpha Particle
    Heavy, highly ionizing particle with a relative biological effectiveness of 20.
  • Beta Particle
    Light, negatively charged particle with a relative biological effectiveness of 1.