Some remarks on definitions and, in particular, on the definition of the term calibration

Confucius (Analects xiii:3) ‘It is not possible to haveany valid argument until rigorously defined terms are agreed’. In radiation protection dosimetry, we perhaps need to take asthe fundamental sources of our definitions for personal dosimetryand area monitoring, mainly those three committees—theJoint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM), which givesdefinitions for metrology generally; the International Commissionon Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU), which gives basicphysical quantities and units for ionising radiation; and theInternational Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) forquantities considering the health effect of ionising radiation,for example effective dose, equivalent dose and the qualityfactor/linear energy transfer function. The JCGM, chaired by the Director of the BIPM, is formed bythe seven international organisations that had prepared theoriginal versions of the