Absolute Radiation Dosimetry

Abstract

Radiation dosimetry is divided into two broad categories: absolute and relative radiation dosimetry. Absolute radiation dosimetry establishes absorbed dose or some other dose related quantity directly from the dosimeter signal measured by the dosimeter. This chapter describes the three known absolute radiation dosimetry techniques: (1) Calorimetric absolute radiation dosimetry based on measurement of direct energy transfer from ionizing radiation to dosimeter medium; (2) Fricke chemical absolute radiation dosimetry based on measurement of oxidation of ferrous ions into ferric ions in an irradiated ferrous sulfate solution comprising the dosimeter cavity, and (3) Ionometric absolute radiation dosimetry based on production and measurement of ion pairs in air during irradiation of an air-filled dosimeter cavity.