Becquerel

Table of Contents

Lead Author: Cutler J. Cleveland (other articles)
Article Topics: Units, Energy and Nuclear energy
This article has been reviewed and approved by the following Topic Editor: Tom Lawrence (other articles)
Last Updated: March 3, 2008

Definition

SI multiples of becquerel
Multiple Name Symbol Multiple Name Symbol
100 becquerel Bq      
101 decabecquerel daBq 10–1 decibecquerel dBq
102 hectobecquerel hBq 10–2 centibecquerel cBq
103 kilobecquerel kBq 10–3 millibecquerel mBq
106 megabecquerel MBq 10–6 microbecquerel µBq
109 gigabecquerel GBq 10–9 nanobecquerel nBq
1012 terabecquerel TBq 10–12 picobecquerel pBq
1015 petabecquerel PBq 10–15 femtobecquerel fBq
1018 exabecquerel EBq 10–18 attobecquerel aBq
1021 zettabecquerel ZBq 10–21 zeptobecquerel zBq
1024 yottabecquerel YBq 10–24 yoctobecquerel yBq

The becquerel (symbol Bq') is the SI derived unit of radioactivity in the International System of Units (SI), and equal to one disintegration or nuclear transformation per second. It is therefore equivalent to s-1. The older unit of radioactivity was the curie (Ci), defined as 3.7×1010 becquerels or 37 GBq.

History

The becquerel is named after Antoine Henri Becquerel, the French physicist credited with the discovery of radioactivity.

Further Reading

Citation
Cleveland, Cutler (Lead Author); Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor). 2008. "Becquerel." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [Published in the Encyclopedia of Earth March 3, 2008; Retrieved November 21, 2009]. <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Becquerel>
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