Radiation Protection Glossary

A radiation protection glossary for Radiation Protection Supervisors (RPS), Radiation Protection Advisers (RPA) and anyone else interesting in radiation safety terms and definitions. The glossary is a mixture of health physics , phrases related to radiation protection legislation, transport, practical safety, technical terms and similar.

Search the Glossary by either clicking on a letter or typing a keyword into the search box. This glossary is relational so when looking at one term you can click through to other related terms as required.

For formal advice, see our Radiation Protection Adviser pages. 

Dental x-ray

A diagnostic procedure undertaken by a Dental Surgeon / Nurse, usually involving patient exposure to x-rays where by the required image is captured on a film, which is then developed and used for assessment and treatment planning. The level of x-ray's are carefully controlled and usually amount to a small fraction of normal annual background radiation.

There are children playing in the street who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.

– J. Robert Oppenheimer -