Radiometry and Photometry: Units and Conversion Factors

Jurgen R. Meyer-Arendt
Although often colorful and of historical interest, some radiometric and photometric units are redundant
and illogical. The essential units are few in number. These, together with their definitions and conver-
sion factors, are presented here.
The following outline is concerned with definitions,
symbols, units, and conversion factors as they occur,
and are helpful, in radiometry and photometry. The
situation here is more complex than in other areas of
optics; this is for several reasons. Sometimes,
different terms are used for identical quantities. Cer-
tain terms such as candlepower are ill-conceived.
Others like nox, phot, glim, skot or scot (identical),
bril and brill (different), helios, lumerg, pharos, stilb,
talbot, and blondel may merely delight the historian.
The impending-we hope-general conversion to the
mks system, which should more properly now be re-
ferred to as SI, presents us with a unique opportunity
for simplifying some of the basic definitions and units,
although a solution fully satisfying to all may never be
found. The term SI stands for Systbme Interna-
tional-International System of Units-adopted by the
Eleventh General Conference on Weights and Mea-
sures held 11-20 October 1960 in Paris, France, to
which the United States has been a party. In this
paper, only SI units are used, but their relationship to
other units is also shown.
Close cooperation of committees of the International
Commission on Illumination, the International Organi-
zation for Standardization, the International Electro-
technical Commission, and the SUN Commission of
the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
has resulted in the development of a set of terms and
symbols that is receiving acceptance throughout the
entire world. The symbols in the U. S. A. Standard
Letter Symbols for Illuminating Engineering (USAS
The author is with Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon
97116.
Received 26 October 1967.
This paper was written at the request of the Editor after three or
four shorter papers on units and nomenclature had been submitted
for publication. The author was asked to consolidate these other
papers and try to summarize the preferred units. This paper does
not constitute an official report of a nomenclature committee, but
nevertheless it was widely circulated in draft form and represents a
reasonable consensus.
Y10.18-1967) are consistent with the international
agreements that have been reached to date. These
symbols have been used throughout this paper and
also are summarized in Table I. The symbols,
terms, and notations are also consistent with USAS Z7.
1-1967. Any difference in wording between the def-
initions in this paper and those in Y10.18-1967 and
Z7.1-1967 does not imply any difference in meaning.
The outstanding features of the symbols used in
Standard Y10.18-1967 are (1) the use of the same set of
symbols for radiometric and photometric quantities,
with the proviso that when there is need to differen-
tiate these quantities subscripts e and v, respectively,
will be used, and (2) the use of a subscript X to desig-
nate a spectral concentration and (X) in parentheses to
designate a function of wavelength. In some of the
following equations, and when otherwise obvious, sub-
scripts e and v have been omitted.
Radiant Energy Qe is energy traveling in the form of
electromagnetic waves. The term radiation, although
widely in use, is deprecated because words that end in
-ion should be reserved for processes rather than quan-
tities.
The unit of radiant energy is the joule, J.
Radiant Energy Density we is radiant energy per unit
volume,
W = bQ/v.
Unit: joule/meter
3
, J m-
3
.
Radiant Power ke, also called radiant flux, is the ra-
diant energy transferred per unit time, i.e., the time
rate of flow of radiant energy:
0 = Qlbt.
Radiant power is measured in the same units as power
in general. Since power = work/time, and work ( =
potential energy) = force X distance, the unit of power
is
1 joule_
1 soe= 1 watt, W = J s-
1 second
October 1968 / Vol. 7, No. 10 / APPLIED OPTICS 2081
Table I. Radiometric and Photometric Symbols and Units
Symbol Name of unit Abbreviation of unit
Radiant energy Qe joule J
Luminous energy Q" talbot
Radiant energy density we joule/meter
3
J m-<
Luminous energy density w. talbot/meter
3
lm s m-3
Radiant power (radiant flux) 0e watt W
Luminous power (luminous flux) 0v lumen lm
Luminous efficacy K lumen/watt Im W-
Luminous efficiency V
Radiant intensity Ie watt/steradian W sr-'
Luminous intensity I, candela cd (Im sr-
1
)
Radiant exitance Me watt/meter
2
W m-2
Luminous exitance Ml' lumen/meter
2
lm m-
2
Radiance
Le watt/meter
2
-steradian W m-
2
sr-'
Spectral radiance Lex watt/meter
2
-steradian-nanometer W m-
2
sr-' nm
Luminance L, candela/meter
2
cd m-2
Irradiance
Ee watt/meter
2
W m-2
Spectral irradiance Ex watt/meter
2
-nanometer W m-
2
nm-
Illuminance
Ev lumen/meter
2
(lux) im m-
2
.
Spectral Radiant Power ox is the radiant power per
unit wavelength interval at wavelength , bo/-X, mea-
sured in units of watts/nm.
The mere specification that certain electromagnetic
energy occurs in the visible region of the spectrum says
nothing about the visual effectiveness of that energy.
A blue lamp, for instance, may emit the same radiant
power (in watts) in the visible region as a green lamp,
but the latter will appear brighter because the eye is
more sensitive to green light than to blue light.
In the visible region of the spectrum, radiant energy
is frequently evaluated with respect to its capacity to
evoke the sensation of brightness. One should always
bear in mind the fundamental difference between radio-
metric and photometric terms. Radiometric terms
apply anywhere in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Photometric terms apply to the visible part of the spec-
trum only, and if we want to convert radiometric
values into photometric values, and vice versa, we have
to take into account the relative visibility of the light
of the particular wavelength involved. The resulting
curve (Fig. 1) is called the luminous efficiency curve and
the ratio of any photometric unit to its radiometric
equivalent is called the luminous efficacy K. The peak
at 555 nm, the wavelength to which the eye is most
sensitive, is the point of maximum visibility or-prefer-
ably-the maximum value of luminous efficacy for
photopic vision.
Luminous Power 0,. Photometric terms all have
the adjective luminous. Thus, instead of radiant
power we now have luminous power (luminous flux).
The unit of luminous power is the lumen, m. One
lumen is defined as the luminous power emitted (within
a unit solid angle) by a point source of luminous inten-
sity (defined below) of one candela. In other words, a
point source that radiates uniformly in all directions
with a luminous intensity of 1 candela emits a total of
47r lm.
At 555 nm, 1 m is equivalent to 0.00147 ( 1/680)
W; or 1 W, at 555 nm, is equal to 680 m.
In order to use this conversion anywhere else in the
visible spectrum, the proper luminous efficiency must
be included. For example, the luminous efficiency at
600 nm is 0.63; thus, 1 W of monochromatic light at
that wavelength equals (0.63) (680) = 428 lm; or 1 lm
is equal to 0.00147/0.63 = 0.00233 W. If the source
is not monochromatic, integration is needed.
Outside of the visible part of the spectrum, there can
by definition be no light. Therefore, the terms, units,
and quantities of photometry do not apply there.
Since radiant energy is the product of radiant power
and time, there should also be a unit for the photomet-
ric term luminous energy Q, the product of luminous
power and time. This unit is the talbot (1 talbot = 1
lumen-second). One lumen, hence, is the luminous
power of 1 talbot per second.
Luminous Efficiency V and Luminous Efficacy K.
The term efficiency as applied to visible light has a
meaning similar to that which it has when it is applied
to a machine-it has a maximum value of 1.0 and is
dimensionless. The term efficacy as applied to visible
1.0
as U
4
U.
U.
M 0.5
Z
400 50 600 700nm
WAVELENGTH
Fig. 1. CIE spectral luminous efficiency curve, showing sensi-
tivityof the human eye to different wavelengths of radiant energy.
2082 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 7, No. 10 / October 1968
.
light is expressed as the quotient of luminous power
(output) to power consumed (input) and has the unit of
lumen per watt, lm W-
1
.
Radiant Intensity e is defined as the radiant power
proceeding from a point source per unit solid angle in
the direction considered,
I = a/a.
Solid angles are measured in units of steradian, sr. A
unit solid angle, or 1 sr, is defined as the solid angle sub-
tended at the center of a sphere with a radius R = 1
meter by an area of one square meter on its surface.
Therefore, since the surface of a sphere is Ao = 4rR
2
,
the total solid angle about a point is w =
4
7r sr. For
an element of surface dA, which subtends a small solid
angle at a point at distance D from the element of sur-
face, the solid angle is
do = dA cosO/D
2
,
where a is the angle between the normal to the surface
and the direction D.
Unit: watt per steradian, W sr-'.
Luminous Intensity I,,. The equivalent psychophys-
ical term for radiant intensity is luminous intensity.
Here, as in all luminous quantities, lumen takes the
place of watt. The candela, the unit of luminous in-
tensity, is equal to 1 lumen of luminous power per
unit solid angle; thus, 1 candela = 1 lumen/steradian,
lm sr-'. (Luminous intensity has sometimes been
called candlepower, a name that is misleading since in-
tensity is not power.)
Unit: The Thirteenth General Conference on
Weights and Measures in October 1967 adopted this
definition of the unit of luminous intensity, the candela,
cd: The candela is the luminous intensity, in the direction
of the normal, of a full radiator (blackbody) surface
1/600,000 square meter in area, at the temperature of
solidification of platinum-approximately 2042
0
K or
17690C-under a pressure of 101,325 newtons per
square meter.
Exitance M is defined as the radiant power per unit
area leaving a surface,
M = 60/6A.
This may take two forms: radiant exitance Me, with
the unit watt/meter
2
, W m-
2
, and luminous exitance
M,, with the unit lumen/meter
2
, m m-2.
Radiance Le is defined as the radiant power that
leaves a surface per unit solid angle and unit projected
area of that surface,
L = (
2
0)/(A bX coso) = I/(aA coso).
(Note: The term intensity is restricted to a point source,
while radiance also applies to an extended source. In
practice, the finite extent of a source is sometimes ne-
glected if its diameter is less than about 1/20 of the dis-
tance to the irradiated surface.)
The term coso, in which 0 is the angle between the
normal to 6A and the direction of view transforms area
-A to projected area. If the amount of flux 6
2
k that
leaves an element of area bA in solid angle bw in all di-
rections is proportional to cosO, the surface is said to
obey Lambert's law and is often referred to as a Lamb-
ertian, or perfectly diffuse radiating (or reflecting or
transmitting) surface. Because the projected area is
also proportional to coso, the radiance of such a per-
fectly diffuse surface is independent of the direction of
view.
Unit: watt per square meter and steradian, W m-2
sr-'.
Spectral Radiance Lx is the power emitted per unit
projected source area and unit solid angle and unit
wavelength band. It can be expressed in units of
W m-
2
sr- nm-.
Luminance L, is the photometric term corresponding
to radiance. Its unit is candela per square meter, cd
m-
2
(sometimes called nit).
There exist numerous other units of luminance, but
considering the rigor in using cd m-
2
and the advan-
tages of avoiding some decimals or 7r factors, most of
these are not really essential:
Stilb, candela/cm
2
, cd cm-
2
, equal to 10,000 cd/M
2
, 929.02
cd/ft
2
, ir lamberts, or 2.919 X 103 ft-lamberts.
Apostilb (international), equal to 0.1 millilambert, 10-4 lambert,
1 blondel, (1/7r) cd m-
2
, 0.3183 cd m-
2
, 0.00003183 cd/cm
2
, or
(1I/7r) 10O-4 stilb.
Table II. Conversion Factors for Units of Luminance
Number of - cd/m
2
a cd/cm
2
apostilb milli- foot-
multiplied by (nit) (stilb) cd/ft
2
cd/in
2
(blondel) lambert lambert
equals number
of
cd/M
2
(nit)a 1 10,000 10.764 1550 0.3183 3.183 3.426
cd/cm
2
(stilb) 0.0001 1 0.001076 0.155 0.00003183 0.0003183 0.0003426
cd/ft
2
0.0929 929 1 144 0.02957 0.2957 0.3183
cd/in
2
0.000645 6.452 0.00694 1 0.0002054 0.002054 0.002211
apostilb (blondel) 3.1416 31,416 33.82 4869 1 10 10.764
millilambert 0.31416 3141.6 3.382 486.9 0.1 1 1.0764
foot-lambert 0.2919 2919 3.1416 452.4 0.0929 0.929 1
a SI unit. The name nit is not in widespread use.
October 1968 / Vol. 7, No. 10 / APPLIED OPTICS 2083
Table IlIl. Conversion Factors for Units of Illuminance
Number of Foot- lm/m
2
Milli-
multiplied by -,, candles (lux)a Phot phot
equals number
of
Foot-candles 1 0.0929 929 0.929
lm/m2 (lux)a 10.764 1 10,000 10
Phot 0.00108 0.0001 1 0.001
Milliphot 1.076 0.1 1,000 1
aSI unit. The symbol for lux is lx.
Apostilb (German Hefner candle), equal to 0.09 millilambert.
Blondel, equal to (1/7r) [= 0.3183] cd m-' or 0.02957 cd ft-
2
.
Skot, unit of luminance for rod vision, equal to 10-3 apostilb or
3.2 X 10-4 cd m-2.
Lambert, 1000 millilambert, equal to (1/7r) cd cm'2, 0.3183
cd cm
2
, (1/7r) 104 cm m'2, 3.18 stilb, or 9.29 X 102 ft-lambert.
Millilambert, equal to 10 apostilb or 0.0003183 cd cm-
2
, roughly
equal to 1 ft-lambert.
Microlambert, 0.001 millilambert.
Foot-lambert, equal to 1/7r candle/ft2, 1 lm/ft2, 3.4263 cd m-
2
,
3.4263 X 10-4 stilb, or 1.1 X 10-3 lambert. (Table II).
Glim, equal to 10-3 foot-lambert.
Candela/ft2 and candela/inch
2
are also deprecated.
Irradiance e is defined as radiant power incident
upon a surface per unit area,
E= 0/bA.
The magnitude of irradiance from a point source follows
the inverse square law: E = I/D , where D is the dis-
tance.
Unit: watts per square meter, W m-2.
Spectral Irradiance E is the power incident per unit
area and per unit wavelength interval, with the unit
W m-2 nm-.
Illuminance E, is the luminous power per unit area
incident on a surface. It is measured in units of lu-
men/m, Im m-2. The SI name of this unit is lux.
(See Table III.)
Not rigorous in this context are:
W/cm2,
Nox, equal to 10-3 lm/m
2
,
Phot or centimeter-candle, equal to lm/cm
2
, 104 lm/m2, or 929
footcandles.
Foot-candle. This is a rather unfortunate term which seems to
indicate that the luminous intensity in candles is to be multiplied
by a distance, rather than indicating that the unit is defined as the
illuminance of a surface at a unit distance from a point source of
luminous intensity equal to one candela.
Foot-candle, lm/ft
2
, equal to 10.763910 lm Mr
2
, 0.001076 phot,
lm/cm
2
; or 1.076 milliphot.
The same argument also applies to meter-candle (equal to lux
or lm/m
2
), 10-4 phot, 0.092902 foot-candles, lm/ft
2
, and to mile-
candle, lm/mile2.
Troland, previously called photon [sic], unit of retinal illumi-
nance, produced by luminance of 1 cd m-2 if the apparent cross
section of the entrance pupil of the eye, corrected for the Stiles-
Crawford effect, is 1 mm2.
The brightness of a surface is not the same as either
irradiance or illuminance. Rather, it can be a function
of illuminance and reflectivity.
Irradiation, and likewise illumination, are processes
of exposing an object to electromagnetic energy for a
given length of time.
If radiant energy is incident on an element of surface
at an energy flow rate 0, and is reflected by the ele-
ment of surface at a rate Or, the ratio 0kr/0O is called the
reflectance of the surface. In general, this ratio depends
on the wavelength and state of polarization of the inci-
dent energy, and the direction of incidence.
I would like to acknowledge contributions, sugges-
tions, and criticisms from a great many individuals
and organizations. Among these were L. E. Barbrow,
NBS, Washington, D.C.; L. M. Biberman, IDA, Ar-
lington, Va.; \ar. Bodner, Lockheed, Burbank, Calif.;
E. Dews, RAND Corp., Santa Monica, Calif.; R. H.
Ginsberg, Hughes Aircraft, Culver City, Calif.; J. N.
Howard, AFCRL, Bedford, Mass.; D. B. Judd, NBS,
Washington, D.C.; W. M. Lyle, University of Water-
loo, Ontario, Canada; A. G. McNish, NBS, Washing-
ton, D. C.; J. C. Richmond, NBS, Washington, D.C.;
C. S. Williams, Texas Instruments, Dallas, Tex.; and
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y.
Bibliography
U.S.A. Standard Letter Symbols for Illuminating Engineering
USAS Y10.18-1967.
U.S.A. Standard Nomenclature and Definitions for Illuminating
Engineering, USAS Z7.1-1967.
L. E. Barbrow, Illum. Eng. 62, No. 11 (1967).
L. M. Biberman, Appl. Opt. 6, 1127 (1967).
D. Deirmendjian, RAND Rep. P-2079, 19 Aug 1960.
H. K. Hughes, Anal. Chem. 24, 1349 (1952).
D. B. Judd, J. Opt. Soc. Amer. 57, 445 (1967).
H. R. Luxenberg, Inform. Display 2, 39 (May-June 1965).
F. E. Nicodemus, Amer. J. Phys. 31, 368 (1963).
Optical Society of America, The Science of Color (Optical Society
of America, Washington, D. C., 1963), pp. 223-233, 254-316.
W. Viezee, RAND Rep. RM-2492, 12 July 1960.
J. W. T. Walsh, Photometry (Constable, London, 1958).
C. S. Williams, Texas Instrum. Tech. Rep. No. 08-66-79 (1966).
2084 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 7, No. 10 / October 1968