Summary:
- Radioactivity is determined by measuring the number of decay processes per unit time.
- The curie (Ci) is one measure of the rate of decay (named after Pierre and Marie Curie) One curie is equivalent to 3.7 × 1010 disintegrations per second.
- Another measure is the becquerel (Bq), defined as an activity of one disintegration/second.
- Both of these units are concerned with the disintegration rate of the radioactive isotope and give no indication of dosage.