Radiation Quantities and Units

Abstract

Radiation Quantities and UnitsPublished Online:28 Jan 2014https://doi.org/10.1259/0007-1285-36-429-625SectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail AboutAbstractThe chequered history of the concepts and units used in radiation dosimetry took a further step forward with the recent publication of Report 10a of the International Commission on Radiological Units on Radiation Units and Quantities.*For many years it was almost a sour joke amongst students of radiology that they were never quite sure whether their definition of the röntgen was up to date. The later introduction of the rad, the rem and the now defunct rep, together with the infiltration of radiation dosimetry into the fields of nuclear science and technology further confused the issue. In an attempt to clarify the position, the ICRU in 1958 set up a Committee with instructions “…to review the fundamental concepts, quantities and units which are required in radiation dosimetry and to recommend a system of concepts and a set of definitions which would be, as far as possible, internally consistent and of sufficient generality to cover present requirements and such future requirements as can be foreseen.” Furthermore, the Committee was asked to pay more attention to consistency and rigour than to the historical development of the subject and to avoid as far as possible the earlier unfortunate confusion between quantities and units. The Commission's view was that the definition of concepts and quantities was a fundamental matter, the choice of units being of less importance. Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byKK Volume 36, Issue 429September 1963Pages: 625-704 © The British Institute of Radiology History Published onlineJanuary 28,2014 Metrics Download PDF