Rutherford (unit)
The rutherford (symbol Rd) is a non-SI unit of radioactive decay. It is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one million nuclei decay per second. It is therefore equivalent to one megabecquerel, and one becquerel equals one microrutherford. One rutherford is equivalent to 2.703 × 10−5 curie.
| rutherford | |
|---|---|
| Unit of | Activity |
| Symbol | Rd |
| Named after | Lord Ernest Rutherford |
| Conversions | |
| 1 Rd in ... | ... is equal to ... |
| curie | 2.703×10−5 Ci |
| SI derived units | 1 MBq |
| SI base units | 106 s−1 |
The unit was introduced in 1946.[1] It was named after British/New Zealand physicist and Nobel laureate Lord Ernest Rutherford (Nobel Prize in 1908),[2] who was an early leader in the study of atomic nucleus disintegrations. After the becquerel was introduced in 1975[3] as the SI unit for activity, the rutherford became obsolete, and it is no longer commonly used.
Radiation related quantities
The following table shows radiation quantities in SI and non-SI units:
| Quantity | Unit | Symbol | Derivation | Year | SI equivalence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activity (A) | becquerel | Bq | s−1 | 1974 | SI unit |
| curie | Ci | 3.7 × 1010 s−1 | 1953 | 3.7×1010 Bq | |
| rutherford | Rd | 106 s−1 | 1946 | 1,000,000 Bq | |
| Exposure (X) | coulomb per kilogram | C/kg | C⋅kg−1 of air | 1974 | SI unit |
| röntgen | R | esu / 0.001293 g of air | 1928 | 2.58 × 10−4 C/kg | |
| Absorbed dose (D) | gray | Gy | J⋅kg−1 | 1974 | SI unit |
| erg per gram | erg/g | erg⋅g−1 | 1950 | 1.0 × 10−4 Gy | |
| rad | rad | 100 erg⋅g−1 | 1953 | 0.010 Gy | |
| Equivalent dose (H) | sievert | Sv | J⋅kg−1 × WR | 1977 | SI unit |
| röntgen equivalent man | rem | 100 erg⋅g−1 x WR | 1971 | 0.010 Sv |
References
- Lind, SC (1946), "New units for the measurement of radioactivity", Science, 103 (2687): 761–762, Bibcode:1946Sci...103..761L, doi:10.1126/science.103.2687.761-a, PMID 17836457.
- "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1908".
- Harder, D (1976), "[The new radiologic units of measurement gray and becquerel (author's translation from the German original)]", Röntgen-Blätter, 29 (1): 49–52, PMID 1251122.