Roentgen (unit) Roentgen (unit) The roentgen or röntgen () (symbol R) is a legacy unit of measurement for the exposure of X-rays and gamma rays. It is defined as the electric charge freed by such radiation in a specified volume of air divided by the mass of that air. In 1928 it was the first international measurement quantity for ionising radiation to be defined for radiation protection, and was an easily replicated method of measuring air ionization directly by using an ion chamber. It is named after the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered X-rays. Although relatively easy to measure, it had
Roentgen (unit) of temperature and pressure." Using 1 esu ≈ 3.33564 C and the air density of ~1.293 kg/m³ at 0 °C and 101 kPa, this converts to 2.58 × 10 C/kg, which is the modern value given by NIST. 1 × 3.33564 × 10 × 1,000,000 ÷ 1.293 = 2.58 × 10 This definition was used under different names (e, R, and German unit of radiation) for the next 20 years. In the meantime, the French Roentgen was given a different definition which amounted to 0.444 German R. In 1928, the International Congress of Radiology (ICR) defined the roentgen as "the