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 equivalent man Roentgen equivalent man The roentgen equivalent man (or rem) is an older, CGS unit of equivalent dose, effective dose, and committed dose which are measures of the health effect of low levels of ionizing radiation on the human body. Quantities measured in rem are designed to represent the stochastic biological risk of ionizing radiation; primarily radiation-induced cancer. These quantities are derived from absorbed dose, which in the CGS system has the unit rad which is also an older unit. There is no universally applicable conversion constant from rad to rem; the conversion depends on relative biological effectiveness (RBE). The rem