Understanding Fermi: The Unit of Measurement for Radioactive Materials

Fermi is a unit of measurement used to express the activity of radioactive materials. It was named after physicist Enrico Fermi, who played a key role in the development of nuclear power. The Fermi is defined as the amount of radiation required to produce one radioactive decay per second.

One Fermi is equivalent to 10^-18 decays per second, which is a very small amount of radiation. To put this into perspective, a typical smoke detector emits about 10^4 Fermis per hour, while a medical imaging scan can produce up to 10^6 Fermis per minute.

The Fermi unit is used to express the radioactivity of materials in a way that is easy to understand and compare. It is commonly used in scientific research and applications, such as nuclear power plants, medical imaging, and environmental monitoring.