Radiation Dose Converter (Gy → Sv, Bq ↔ Ci)
Turn absorbed dose (Gy, rad) into equivalent dose (Sv, rem) with ICRP 103 radiation weighting factors, and convert activity units — kept apart.
Equivalent dose
20 Sv
- Millisieverts
- 20,000 mSv
- Rem
- 2,000 rem
- Millirem
- 2,000,000 mrem
- Radiation weighting factor wR
- 20
- Absorbed dose
- 1 Gy = 100 rad
Equivalent dose for alpha particles, fission fragments, heavy ions with ICRP 103's wR = 20. It is not effective (whole-body) dose, which also needs tissue weighting factors.
Show the work
Weighting factor for alpha particles, fission fragments, heavy ions
wR from ICRP 103 Table 2
20
Equivalent dose: absorbed dose × weighting factor
H = D × wR
1 Gy × 20 = 20 Sv
For general information only — not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or other qualified professional about your health.
How it works
Equivalent dose H (Sv) = wR × D (Gy), with wR from ICRP Publication 103: photons, electrons and muons 1; protons and charged pions 2; alpha particles, fission fragments and heavy ions 20; neutrons a smooth function of energy. 1 Gy = 100 rad, 1 Sv = 100 rem, 1 Ci = 3.7 × 10¹⁰ Bq (exact).
Gives equivalent dose for one radiation type. Effective dose (whole-body risk) also needs tissue weighting factors, which are not included. Activity (decays per second) can't be turned into a dose without the nuclide, distance, shielding and time, so the two are converted separately. Unit factors: NIST SP 811.
Questions
- How does the radiation dose converter work?
- Equivalent dose H (Sv) = wR × D (Gy), with wR from ICRP Publication 103: photons, electrons and muons 1; protons and charged pions 2; alpha particles, fission fragments and heavy ions 20; neutrons a smooth function of energy. 1 Gy = 100 rad, 1 Sv = 100 rem, 1 Ci = 3.7 × 10¹⁰ Bq (exact).
- What does it assume?
- Gives equivalent dose for one radiation type. Effective dose (whole-body risk) also needs tissue weighting factors, which are not included. Activity (decays per second) can't be turned into a dose without the nuclide, distance, shielding and time, so the two are converted separately. Unit factors: NIST SP 811.
- Why are gray and sievert different?
- Gray is energy absorbed per kilogram. Sievert weights it by how harmful the radiation type is — 1 Gy of alpha particles counts as 20 Sv, 1 Gy of gamma rays as 1 Sv.
- Can I convert becquerels to sieverts?
- Not directly. Becquerels count decays; the dose they cause depends on the nuclide, distance, shielding and exposure time.
Related tools
- Radiation Dose Equivalent ConverterConvert dose equivalent — sieverts, millisieverts, microsieverts and rem.
- Radioactivity ConverterConvert activity — becquerels, curies, rutherfords and disintegrations per minute.
- Radiation Exposure ConverterConvert exposure — coulombs per kilogram and roentgens.
- Absorbed Dose ConverterConvert absorbed dose — grays, rads, J/kg and erg per gram.
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