person-rem

physics

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

The rem is a unit used to measure radiation dosage applied to humans. It is derived from the phrase "roentgen equivalent man". The rem quantifies the biological injury caused by radiation, defining a dosage that results in the same biological effect as one roentgen of X-ray or gamma-ray exposure.12

The person-rem is a unit used to express the collective dose of radiation to a population. It is calculated by multiplying the average dose per person by the number of people exposed. For example, if 100 people each receive a dose of 1 rem, the collective dose is 100 person-rem. The rem is now defined in relation to the sievert, the SI unit for radiation dosage, where 1 rem is equal to 0.01 sievert.314

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

radiation
Units for measuring ionizing radiation
…a population, the person-Sv and person-rem are the units used. These units represent the product of the average dose per person times the number of people exposed (e.g., 1 Sv to each of 100 persons = 100 person-Sv = 10,000 person-rem).
Read More
…a population, the person-Sv and person-rem are the units used. These units represent the product of the average dose per person times the number of people exposed (e.g., 1 Sv to each of 100 persons = 100 person-Sv = 10,000 person-rem).
Read More