Talk:Rad (radiation unit)

Origin of the term

Rad is commonly believed to be derived from the acronym Radiation Absorbed Dose. This BBC The Measurement of Radioactivity article says that this is a common mistake and that its originally just a made up word, while Dictionary.com says (apparently citing Douglas Harper's etymology dictionary) that it is derived from the abbreviation of radiation. Sxoa (talk) 16:52, 18 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Use of the term

Article states that the U.S. is "the only country to still use the rad." In the U.S. medical community the rad is officially considered obsolete, in favor of the Gray (unit) or centigray, although some older physicians use the term out of habit. In Hall's textbook Radiobiology for the Radiologist, Grays and centigrays are primarily used.

Rad is still used by and large in the space industry. In part the industry can be very slow to accept change and part because of the legacy tools and data that are already available. In this case it is not so clear whetehr the benefits of standardising outwiegh the cost and risks of converting all available data and systems currently in place.

I have removed for now any mention that the US is the only country to still use the rad since there is no cited evidence given. Js229 09:11, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lethal dose

What is the lethal exposure level in rads for humans? — Loadmaster 21:36, 8 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

eh??

Yes, another wikipedia entry that literally say nothing. How many RADs make a REM? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.100.197.44 (talk) 04:44, 13 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

biological effects

Added a link to Radiation Poisoning. Rads (and rems) are still there in legacy literature.

Unit Conversion

How does one convert between the different measurements? How much is rad compared to gray, rem, and Sv? - Commandur (talk) 16:30, 16 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

it's in the article. "100 rad are equal to 1 gray". use wolfram alpha for easy conversions if that's what you want. --Ysangkok (talk) 19:38, 19 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I guess I just didn't notice that rem and Sv were modified units to show the effects on tissue. Basically, they have an "extra" variable. I dropped in to the sievert discussion page for help on this "quality factor". - Commandur (talk) 05:44, 8 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

krad-Si

In reading the literature, I keep coming across the term krad-Si or krad(Si). Presumably, a krad is a kilorad, but what does the Si signify? Rwflammang (talk) 19:05, 8 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Si refers to the material of interest, silicon in this case. It's often seen in combination with radiation hardness of electronic components. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.95.141.200 (talk) 12:47, 24 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What..

If the 'new unit' is equivalent to a precise amount of the old unit, then what purpose is there in having a new one? It's like that CE/BCE business. Absolutely no change except revisionism for its own sake.