Convert millirad [mrd] to picogray [pGy] Online | Free radiation-absorbed-dose Converter

Millirad [mrd]: A Subunit of Radiation Absorbed Dose

The millirad (mrd) is a unit of absorbed radiation dose equal to one-thousandth of a rad. The rad (radiation absorbed dose) is an older, non-SI unit that was commonly used before the gray (Gy) became the standard.

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  1 rad = 0.01 gray (Gy)

  
  
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  Therefore, 1 millirad = 0.001 rad = 0.00001 Gy (10⁻⁵ Gy)

  
  

The millirad was used to measure the amount of energy absorbed from ionizing radiation per unit mass, primarily in radiation protection and medical contexts.

Though the rad and its subunits like the millirad have largely been replaced by the gray and its subunits (milligray, microgray, etc.), they may still be encountered in older literature or certain regions.

In summary, the millirad is a very small dose unit equal to one-thousandth of a rad, useful historically for quantifying low-level radiation exposures before the universal adoption of the gray.

Picogray (pGy)

A picogray (pGy) is a very small unit of measurement used in the field of radiation physics and dosimetry. It belongs to the International System of Units (SI) and is a submultiple of the gray (Gy), which is the standard unit for absorbed radiation dose. One gray represents the absorption of one joule of radiation energy per kilogram of matter. Since a picogray is one trillionth of a gray (10⁻¹² Gy), it is an extremely tiny measure, often used in contexts where radiation levels are very low, such as environmental background radiation or highly sensitive biological experiments. Scientists and health physicists use pGy to quantify extremely small exposures that would otherwise be impractical to express in whole grays or even milligrays. For example, natural background radiation received by living organisms may sometimes be expressed in picograys when considering minute variations across different environments. This unit is important because even very small amounts of radiation can be significant in specialized studies, especially in medicine, space research, and nuclear safety. The adoption of the picogray allows researchers to describe radiation doses with greater precision and ensures consistency in international scientific communication.