Unit #1 Glossary of Terms
Curie: (Ci) is the unit of measurement of the amount of radioactivity of a substance, named after Marie and Pierre Curie. 1 Ci = 3.7×1010 disintegrations per second (rate of decay)
Fluoroscope – an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time images of the inside of an object. This technology was abused in the 1950’s by shoe companies to “fit” an individual’s foot to a specific shoe.
Marie Curie: Curie was the first woman awarded the Nobel Prize for her discovery of the radioactive elements Polonium and Radon. Curie is the only person – male or female – to win the Nobel Prize twice.
Pierre Curie: husband, research partner and co-Nobel Prize recipient of Marie Curie.
Becquerel (Bq) – Si unit for measuring radioactivity.
Henri Becquerel – French physicist that shared the 1903 Nobel Prize with Marie and Pierre Curie for his discovery of “spontaneous radioactivity”
Radiation: Energy in transit. Either as particles or electromagnetic waves.
RSO – Radiation Safety Officer – required for any company, education, medical or research facility that uses any form of Gamma or X-ray radiation.
Radioactivity: The characteristic of various materials to emit ionizing radiation.
Roentgen (R) – is a unit of measurement to the exposure of ionizing radiation, specifically Gamma radiation and X-rays, named after the German physicist.
Roentgen – Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered the X-ray while doing research in Germany on November 8th, 1895
X-ray – a type of ionizing radiation formed in a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) when high velocity electrons flow from the cathode to the anode.