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The curie (symbol Ci) is a unit of radioactivity
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
, defined as

1 Ci = 3.7×1010 decays
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
 per second
Second

The second , sometimes abbreviated sec., is the name of a units of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units SI base unit of time....
 or becquerel
Becquerel

The becquerel is the SI derived unit of Radioactive decay. 1 Bq is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one atomic nucleus decays per second....
s.






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The curie (symbol Ci) is a unit of radioactivity
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
, defined as

1 Ci = 3.7×1010 decays
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
 per second
Second

The second , sometimes abbreviated sec., is the name of a units of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units SI base unit of time....
 or becquerel
Becquerel

The becquerel is the SI derived unit of Radioactive decay. 1 Bq is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one atomic nucleus decays per second....
s.


This is roughly the activity of 1 gram
Gram

The gram , ; symbol g, is a Physical unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or Scientific notation kg, which itself is...
 of the radium
Radium

Radium is a radioactive chemical element which has the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. Its appearance is almost pure white, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, turning black....
 isotope
Isotope

Isotopes are any of the different types of atoms of the same chemical element, each having a different atomic mass . Isotopes of an element have atomic nucleus with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutron....
 226Ra, a substance studied by the pioneers of radiology
Radiology

Radiology is the branch or speciality of medicine that deals with the study and application of imaging technology like x-ray and radiation to diagnosing and treating disease....
, Marie
Marie Curie

Marie Sklodowska Curie was a physicist and chemist of Poland upbringing and, subsequently, France citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, and the first female professor at the University of Paris....
 and Pierre Curie
Pierre Curie

Pierre Curie was a French Physics, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity, and Nobel laureate. In 1903 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phe...
. The curie has since been replaced by an SI derived unit
SI derived unit

SI derived units are part of the SI system of measurement Units of measurements and are derived from the seven SI base units.Note that while the names of all SI units are in lowercase, the symbols of units named after people are written with an initial capital letter ....
, the becquerel
Becquerel

The becquerel is the SI derived unit of Radioactive decay. 1 Bq is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one atomic nucleus decays per second....
 (Bq), which equates to one decay per second. Therefore:

1 Ci = 3.7×1010 Bq


and

1 Bq = 2.70×10-11 Ci


The unit is named after Pierre
Pierre Curie

Pierre Curie was a French Physics, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity, and Nobel laureate. In 1903 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phe...
 and Marie Curie
Marie Curie

Marie Sklodowska Curie was a physicist and chemist of Poland upbringing and, subsequently, France citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, and the first female professor at the University of Paris....
.

Also, a commonly-used measure of radioactivity is the microcurie:

1 Ci = 2.22×106 disintegrations per minute


See also

  • Ionizing radiation
    Ionizing radiation

    Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particle radiation or electromagnetic radiation that are energetic enough to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, ionize them....
  • United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
    United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

    The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation was set up by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1955....
  • Radiation exposure
  • Radiation poisoning
    Radiation poisoning

    Radiation poisoning, also called "radiation sickness" or a "creeping dose", is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation....
  • Geiger counter
    Geiger counter

    A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger-M?ller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation....
  • Chernobyl disaster
    Chernobyl disaster

    The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear reactor accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. It is considered to be the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history and the only level 7 instance on the International Nuclear Event Scale....