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The SI units of energy are Joules but the effects of ionizing radiation are rarely described only by the energy. The pertinent quantities are the activity (number of decays per second), the does (energy deposited per unit mass) and the equivalent dose, a related measure which takes into account the biological effect of exposure on tissues.

The SI units for these quantities are the Becquerel, the Gray and the Seivert. The equivalent units of radiation still in use in the United States are Curie, the Rad and the Rem.

The Curie or Becquerel is a measure of the ability of a source to produce ionizing radiation measured in the number of decays per second. The Becquerel is equal to one decay per second. A Curie on the other hand is equal to 3.7 x 1010 Becquerels.

The Grey is a measure of the energy deposited per kilogram of matter and dependent not only on the number of decays per second but also on the distance to the source and on the ability of any particular type of ionizing radiation to interact with matter. A Grey has units of Joules per Kilogram (100 Rad is equal to 1 Grey). The Grey does not attempt to take into account the biological damage done to different tissues.

The Seivert (or rem) is the equivalent dose or the product of the radiation intensity (Grey) and factors which attempt to account for the biological damage done to different tissues by different types of ionizing radiation. While the Sievert has the same base units as the Grey (Joules per Kilogram) they are applied differently and named separately to avoid confusion.

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