The water also moderates, or slows down, the fissioning of neutrons. A device, such as a film badge, which can be worn and used to measure the radiation dosage a person receives over a period of time. The splitting or breaking apart of a heavy atom into two or more new atoms. When a heavy atom, such as uranium, is split, large amounts of energy and on or more neutrons are released. The atoms formed when uranium is split in a nuclear reactor.
Fission products are usually radioactive.
An instrument for detecting and measuring beta and gamma radiation. A unit of radiation dosage equal to one-thousandth of a rem. An individual member of the public can receive up to 500 millirems per year according to federal standards. This limit does not include radiation received for medical treatment nor does the limit include the 100 to 250 millirems people receive annually from background radiation. An uncharged particle with a mass nearly equal to the mass of a proton.