Free interactive tool

Radiation Dose Calculator

Convert a radiation dose rate between units and time bases, see what it means in context, and check acute-exposure timeframes. Everything runs here in your browser — no sign-up, nothing stored.

Dose & exposure converter

Enter a dose rate — for example a dosimeter reading in µSv per hour — and choose its unit and time base. You'll get the equivalent in every common unit, the hourly/daily/yearly rate, how it compares to background and medical doses, and a rough idea of acute-exposure timeframes.

Showing a worked example — 1 mSv/hour

Your input

Entered dose rate1 mSv / hour

Equivalent dose rate

UnitPer hourPer dayPer year
mSv (as entered)1248765.808
µSv1000240008765808
mSv1248765.808

Unit equivalents (per hour)

Microsievert1000 µSv
Millisievert1 mSv
Sievert / gray (est.)0.001 Sv
Millirem100 mrem
Rem0.1 rem

In context

Low-level background (2.0 mSv/yr)4382.9×
High-level background (6.2 mSv/yr)1413.8×
Max permissible dose (50 mSv/yr)175.3×
Chest X-ray (0.1 mSv) — per hour at this rate10×
CT scan (7 mSv) — per hour at this rate0.143×

Acute whole-body exposure

Whole-body doseRate held constantWith 7-10 decay
Cumulative reference (500 mSv)20.8 daysnot reached
Mild ARS — ~1 Sv (<5% mortality)41.7 daysnot reached
Moderate — ~3 Sv (~5–50% mortality)125 daysnot reached
Severe — ~6 Sv (~50–100% mortality)250 daysnot reached
Almost certainly fatal — ~8 Sv333.3 daysnot reached

Time of continuous exposure to reach each whole-body dose. Rate held constant is the simple dose ÷ rate view, assuming the reading never changes. With 7-10 decay treats the reading as the 1-hour reference rate for fresh fallout decaying as t−1.2, with exposure beginning at H+1: the rate falls while you're exposed, so the dose converges — staying indefinitely accumulates at most 5 mSv, and any threshold above that is never reached. Real outcomes also depend on shielding, medical care and individual factors — for education only, and the t−1.2 rule holds for roughly the first six months after the blast.

Fallout decay from this initial reading

1 hr1 mSv
2 hr0.5 mSv
4 hr0.2 mSv
8 hr0.083333 mSv
12 hr0.05 mSv
24 hr0.02 mSv
48 hr0.01 mSv
72 hr0.005 mSv
1 week0.002 mSv
2 weeks0.001 mSv

A rough projection using the practical “7-10 rule”: roughly every sevenfold increase in time after detonation, the dose rate falls by about tenfold.

Quick conversion reference

Effective / equivalent dose

0.001 rem = 1 mrem = 0.01 mSv
0.01 rem = 10 mrem = 0.1 mSv
0.1 rem = 100 mrem = 1 mSv = 0.001 Sv
1 rem = 1000 mrem = 10 mSv = 0.01 Sv
10 rem = 100 mSv = 0.1 Sv
100 rem = 1000 mSv = 1 Sv (sievert)
1000 rem = 10 Sv

Absorbed dose (non-rad values estimated)

1 R = 1 rad = 1 rem = 0.01 Sv = 10 mSv = 10 mGy
0.001 rad = 1 mrad = 0.01 mGy
0.01 rad = 10 mrad = 0.1 mGy
0.1 rad = 100 mrad = 1 mGy = 0.001 Gy
1 rad = 1000 mrad = 10 mGy = 0.01 Gy
10 rad = 100 mGy = 0.1 Gy
100 rad = 1000 mGy = 1 Gy (gray)
1000 rad = 10 Gy

Related tools — estimate your everyday annual dose with the personal dose estimator, model a single isotope with the isotope decay calculator, or plan time against a dose limit with the stay-time & dose budget tool.