Specific activity several other biomedical applications. Specific activity Specific activity is the activity per quantity of a radionuclide and is a physical property of that radionuclide. Activity is a quantity related to radioactivity. The SI unit of activity is the becquerel (Bq), equal to one reciprocal second. The becquerel is defined as the number of radioactive transformations per second that occur in a particular radioactive isotope. Its related non-SI unit equivalent is the Curie (Ci) which is transformations per second. Since the probability of radioactive decay for a given radionuclide is a fixed physical quantity (with some slight exceptions, see changing decay
Comparison of Chernobyl and other radioactivity releases Comparison of Chernobyl and other radioactivity releases This article compares the radioactivity release and decay from the Chernobyl disaster with various other events which involved a release of uncontrolled radioactivity. Natural sources of radiation are very prevalent in the environment, and come from cosmic rays, food sources (bananas have a particular high source), radon gas, granite and other dense rocks, and others. The collective radiation background dose for natural sources in Europe is about 500,000 man-Sieverts per year. The total dose from Chernobyl is estimated at 80,000 man-sieverts, or roughly 1/6 as much. However, some individuals, particularly in areas adjacent