Radiation Absorbed Dose Converter

About the radiation absorbed dose converter

Absorbed dose is the energy that ionizing radiation deposits per unit mass of tissue, with the SI unit of gray (Gy) — one gray equals one joule per kilogram. The legacy unit is the rad (1 Gy = 100 rad). Equivalent dose, in sieverts (Sv), weights the gray by a quality factor that reflects biological harm; for X-rays and gamma rays the factor is 1, so 1 Gy and 1 Sv coincide. Use this converter when working with medical, occupational, or environmental dose figures.

Frequently asked questions

• What is the difference between gray and sievert? +

  Gray measures physical energy deposited per kg. Sievert weights that by radiation type to estimate biological effect. For photons and electrons, 1 Gy ≈ 1 Sv; for alpha particles, 1 Gy ≈ 20 Sv.

• How many rad in a gray? +

  Exactly 100 rad = 1 Gy. So 50 mGy = 5 rad.

• What is a typical medical X-ray dose? +

  A chest X-ray is roughly 0.1 mSv. A CT abdomen scan is around 8–10 mSv — comparable to 3 years of natural background radiation.