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.

Ion

An ion is a charged Atom or molecule. The ion is charged because the number of Electrons do not equal the number of Protons in the atom or molecule. If the atom or molecule contains an excess of electrons it will be negatively charged (e.g. OH-) where as if it is depleted in electrons it will have a net positive charge (e.g. H+).

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school

– Albert Einstein -