Convert absorbed radiation dose between Gy, cGy, mGy, µGy, rad, and mrad, then compare SI and legacy absorbed-dose scales on one sheet.
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Radiology Reference
A radiation absorbed dose converter is useful when older rad-based notes need to be compared with SI gray notation. This page keeps the quantity boundary explicit: absorbed dose is deposited energy per unit mass, not equivalent dose, effective dose, exposure in air, or source activity.
Absorbed dose measures how much ionizing-radiation energy is deposited in a material per unit mass. In SI, that quantity is expressed in gray, where 1 Gy equals 1 joule per kilogram.
That makes absorbed dose different from source activity, exposure in air, and equivalent or effective dose. Those quantities can all appear in radiation work, but they are not interchangeable.
1 Gy = 1 J/kg
Definition of the gray as the coherent SI unit of absorbed dose.
Gray is the international SI unit, but many older references, equipment notes, and U.S. legacy materials still cite rad or millirad. Centigray also remains common because it maps neatly onto the older rad scale.
A dedicated absorbed-dose converter is helpful because it keeps those absorbed-dose units together without implying a switch into sievert, rem, or biological weighting.
1 Gy = 100 rad
Standard absorbed-dose relationship between gray and rad.
1 cGy = 1 rad
Practical bridge between centigray notation and the legacy rad scale.
A unit conversion alone does not answer shielding, biological effect, compliance, or patient-specific dosimetry questions. Those tasks need the exact radiation context, material or tissue, exposure geometry, and often professional interpretation.
This page therefore stays on absorbed dose only. If the source is already reporting sievert or rem, use the broader radiation dose converter instead of forcing different dose families into one result.
Frequently asked questions
1 gray equals 100 rad on the absorbed-dose scale.
Because 1 cGy is 0.01 gray, and 1 rad is also 0.01 gray. That makes centigray a convenient SI-to-legacy bridge.
No. Gray and rad describe absorbed dose, while sievert and rem are used for equivalent or effective dose contexts that apply biological weighting.
Use this page when the task is strictly absorbed-dose conversion in gray and rad families. Use the broader dose page only when the source already mixes absorbed and equivalent-dose notation for educational comparison.
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