Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitter

What is Unit of Equivalent Dose – Definition

by
Units of Equivalent Dose. The SI unit of HT is the sievert (Sv) or but rem (roentgen equivalent man) is still commonly used (1 Sv = 100 rem). Radiation Dosimetry

sievert - radiationEquivalent dose (symbol HT) is a dose quantity calculated for individual organs (index T – tissue). Equivalent dose is based on the absorbed dose to an organ, adjusted to account for the effectiveness of the type of radiation. Equivalent dose is given the symbol HT. The SI unit of HT is the sievert (Sv) or but rem (roentgen equivalent man) is still commonly used (1 Sv = 100 rem). Unit of sievert was named after the Swedish scientist Rolf Sievert, who did a lot of the early work on dosimetry in radiation therapy.

Units of equivalent dose:

  • Sievert. The sievert is a derived unit of equivalent dose and effective dose and for represents the equivalent biological effect of the deposit of a joule of gamma rays energy in a kilogram of human tissue.
  • REM. The rem (an abbreviation for Roentgen Equivalent Man) is the non-SI unit of the equivalent dose, which is used predominantly in the USA. It is a term for dose equivalence and equals the biological damage that would be caused by one rad of dose.

A dose of one Sv caused by gamma radiation is equivalent to an energy deposition of one joule in a kilogram of a tissue. That means one sievert is equivalent to one gray of gamma rays deposited in certain tissue. On the other hand, similar biological damage (one sievert) can be caused only by 1/20 gray of alpha radiation.

One sievert is a large amount of equivalent dose. A person who has absorbed a whole body dose of 1 Sv has absorbed one joule of energy in each kg of body tissue (in case of gamma rays).

Equivalent doses measured in industry and medicine often have usually lower doses than one sievert, and the following multiples are often used:

1 mSv (millisievert) = 1E-3 Sv

1 µSv (microsievert) = 1E-6 Sv

Conversions from the SI units to other units are as follows:

  • 1 Sv = 100 rem
  • 1 mSv = 100 mrem

The rem represents the equivalent biological effect of the deposit of one hundred ergs (one rad) of gamma rays energy in a kilogram of human tissue. The rem is not derived from the unit of exposure, the roentgen. The acronym is now a misleading historical artifact, since 1 roentgen actually deposits about 0.96 rem in soft biological tissue, when all weighting factors equal unity.

References:

Radiation Protection:

  1. Knoll, Glenn F., Radiation Detection and Measurement 4th Edition, Wiley, 8/2010. ISBN-13: 978-0470131480.
  2. Stabin, Michael G., Radiation Protection and Dosimetry: An Introduction to Health Physics, Springer, 10/2010. ISBN-13: 978-1441923912.
  3. Martin, James E., Physics for Radiation Protection 3rd Edition, Wiley-VCH, 4/2013. ISBN-13: 978-3527411764.
  4. U.S.NRC, NUCLEAR REACTOR CONCEPTS
  5. U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.

Nuclear and Reactor Physics:

  1. J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
  2. J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
  3. W. M. Stacey, Nuclear Reactor Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN: 0- 471-39127-1.
  4. Glasstone, Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Systems Engineering, Springer; 4th edition, 1994, ISBN: 978-0412985317
  5. W.S.C. Williams. Nuclear and Particle Physics. Clarendon Press; 1 edition, 1991, ISBN: 978-0198520467
  6. G.R.Keepin. Physics of Nuclear Kinetics. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co; 1st edition, 1965
  7. Robert Reed Burn, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Operation, 1988.
  8. U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.
  9. Paul Reuss, Neutron Physics. EDP Sciences, 2008. ISBN: 978-2759800414.

See also:

Equivalent Dose

We hope, this article, Unit of Equivalent Dose, helps you. If so, give us a like in the sidebar. Main purpose of this website is to help the public to learn some interesting and important information about radiation and dosimeters.