Counts per minute dose reading. This modifies the tube characteristic so each count resulting from a particular radiation type is equivalent to a specific quantity of deposited dose. More can be found on radiation dose and dose rate at absorbed dose and equivalent dose. Disintegrations per minute (dpm) and disintegrations per second (dps) are measures of the activity of the source of radioactivity. The SI unit of radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), is equivalent to one disintegration per second. This unit should not be confused with cps, which is the number of counts received by an instrument from the source. One dps (one dpm)
Induced radioactivity of the nucleus, which releases a neutron. This reaction has a minimum cutoff of 2 MeV (for deuterium) and around 10 MeV for most heavy nuclei. Many radionuclides do not produce gamma rays with energy high enough to induce this reaction. The isotopes used in food irradiation (cobalt-60, caesium-137) both have energy peaks below this cutoff and thus cannot induce radioactivity in the food. Some induced radioactivity is produced by background radiation, which is mostly natural. However, since natural radiation is not very intense in most places on Earth, the amount of induced radioactivity in a single location is usually