Work (thermodynamics) of the energy went out as heat, and how much as work. This can be summarized by saying that heat and work are not state functions of the system. This is in contrast to classical mechanics, where net work exerted by a particle is a state function. Pressure–volume work (or "PV" work) occurs when the volume of a system changes. "PV" work is often measured in units of litre-atmospheres where = . However, the litre-atmosphere is not a recognised unit in the SI system of units, which measures P in Pascal (Pa), V in m, and PV in Joule (J),
Rad (unit) in the latest NIST definition. Even where the standard medium is fully defined, the ionizing energy is often not precisely known. In 1940, British physicist Louis Harold Gray, who had been studying the effect of neutron damage on human tissue, together with William Valentine Mayneord and John Read published a paper in which a unit of measure, dubbed the ""gram roentgen"" (symbol: gr) defined as "that amount of neutron radiation which produces an increment in energy in unit volume of tissue equal to the increment of energy produced in unit volume of water by one roentgen of radiation" was proposed.