Radiation quantities and terms

The following quantities and terms are essential to the description and measurement of various forms of ionizing radiation. 

An overview of precautions against radiation injury is also given by D.C. Creagh and S. Martinez-Carrera in the International Tables for Crystallography, vol. C, Second edition, A.J.C. Wilson and E. Prince, Eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston/Dordrecht/ London (1999) p. 949. 

Unlike stochastic effects, non-stochastic effects are characterized by a threshold dose below which they do not occur. In addition, the magnitude of the effect is directly proportional to the size of the dose. Furthermore, for non-stochastic effects, there is a clear causal relationship between radiation exposure and the effect. Examples of non-stochastic effects include sterility, erythema (skin reddening), ulceration, and cataract formation. Each of these effects differs from the other in both its threshold dose and in the time over which this dose must be received to cause the effect (i.e. acute vs. chronic exposure). 

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