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Luminous intensity
In photometry, luminous intensity is a measure of the wavelength-
luminous intensity
weighted power emitted by a light source in a particular direction per unit
solid angle, based on the luminosity function, a standardized model of the
sensitivity of the human eye. The SI unit of luminous intensity is the
candela (cd), an SI base unit.

Photometry deals with the measurement of visible light as perceived by

human eyes. The human eye can only see light in the visible spectrum and
has different sensitivities to light of different wavelengths within the
spectrum. When adapted for bright conditions (photopic vision), the eye is Photopic (black) and scotopic
most sensitive to greenish-yellow light at 555 nm. Light with the same (green) luminosity functions.[c 1] The
radiant intensity at other wavelengths has a lower luminous intensity. The photopic includes the CIE 1931
curve which measures the response of the human eye to light is a defined standard[c 2] (solid), the Judd–Vos
standard, known as the luminosity function. This curve, denoted V(λ) or 1978 modified data[c 3] (dashed),
, is based on an average of widely differing experimental data from and the Sharpe, Stockman, Jagla &
scientists using different measurement techniques. For instance, the Jägle 2005 data[c 4] (dotted). The
measured responses of the eye to violet light varied by a factor of ten . horizontal axis is wavelength in nm.
Common symbols L
SI unit candela
Contents Other units candlepower
Relationship to other measures
Hefnerkerze
Units
In SI base units cd
Usage
Dimension J
See also
References
Curve data

Relationship to other measures

Luminous intensity should not be confused with another photometric unit, luminous flux, which is the total perceived
power emitted in all directions. Luminous intensity is the perceived power per unit solid angle. If a lamp has a 1 lumen
bulb and the optics of the lamp are set up to focus the light evenly into a 1 steradian beam, then the beam would have a
luminous intensity of 1 candela. If the optics were changed to concentrate the beam into 1/2 steradian then the source
would have a luminous intensity of 2 candela. The resulting beam is narrower and brighter, though its luminous flux
remains unchanged.

Luminous intensity is also not the same as the radiant intensity, the corresponding objective physical quantity used in
the measurement science of radiometry.

Units
Like other SI base units, the candela has an operational definition—it is defined by the description of a physical
process that will produce one candela of luminous intensity. By definition, if one constructs a light source that emits
monochromatic green light with a frequency of 540 THz, and that has a radiant intensity of 1/683 watts per steradian

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in a given direction, that light source will emit one candela in the specified direction.[1]

The frequency of light used in the definition corresponds to a wavelength of 555 nm, which is near the peak of the eye's
response to light. If the source emitted uniformly in all directions, the total radiant flux would be about 18.40 mW,
since there are 4π steradians in a sphere. A typical candle produces very roughly one candela of luminous intensity.

Prior to the definition of the candela, a variety of units for luminous intensity were used in various countries. These
were typically based on the brightness of the flame from a "standard candle" of defined composition, or the brightness
of an incandescent filament of specific design. One of the best-known of these standards was the English standard:
candlepower. One candlepower was the light produced by a pure spermaceti candle weighing one sixth of a pound and
burning at a rate of 120 grains per hour. Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia used the Hefnerkerze, a unit based on the
output of a Hefner lamp.[2] In 1881, Jules Violle proposed the Violle as a unit of luminous intensity, and it was notable
as the first unit of light intensity that did not depend on the properties of a particular lamp. All of these units were
superseded by the definition of the candela.

Usage
The luminous intensity for monochromatic light of a particular wavelength λ is given by

where

Iv is the luminous intensity in candelas (cd),

Ie is the radiant intensity in watts per steradian (W/sr),
is the standard luminosity function.

If more than one wavelength is present (as is usually the case), one must sum or integrate over the spectrum of
wavelengths present to get the luminous intensity:

See also
Brightness
International System of Quantities
Radiance

References
1. "Base unit definitions: Candela" (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/candela.html). The NIST Reference on
Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
2. "Hefner unit, or Hefner candle" (http://www.sizes.com/units/hefner.htm). Sizes.com. 30 May 2007. Retrieved
25 February 2009.

Curve data
1. "CIE Scotopic luminosity curve (1951)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081228115119/http://www.cvrl.org/databas
e/text/lum/scvl.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.cvrl.org/database/text/lum/scvl.htm) on 2008-12-28.
2. "CIE (1931) 2-deg color matching functions" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081228084047/http://www.cvrl.org/da
tabase/text/cmfs/ciexyz31.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.cvrl.org/database/text/cmfs/ciexyz31.htm)
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on 2008-12-28.
3. "Judd–Vos modified CIE 2-deg photopic luminosity curve (1978)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081228083025/h
ttp://www.cvrl.org/database/text/lum/vljv.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.cvrl.org/database/text/lum/vlj
v.htm) on 2008-12-28.
4. "Sharpe, Stockman, Jagla & Jägle (2005) 2-deg V*(l) luminous efficiency function" (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0070927222337/http://www.cvrl.org/database/text/lum/ssvl2.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.cvrl.org/d
atabase/text/lum/ssvl2.htm) on 2007-09-27.

SI photometry quantities

Quantity Unit Dimension

Notes
Name Symbol[nb 1] Name Symbol Symbol[nb 2]

lumen The lumen second is sometimes

Luminous energy Qv [nb 3] lm⋅s T⋅J
second called the talbot.
Luminous flux / lumen
Φv [nb 3] lm J Luminous energy per unit time
luminous power (= cd⋅sr)

Luminous candela
Iv cd J Luminous flux per unit solid angle
intensity (= lm/sr)
Luminous flux per unit solid angle
candela
per unit projected source area. The
Luminance Lv per square cd/m2 L−2⋅J
candela per square metre is
metre
sometimes called the nit.
lux
Illuminance Ev lx L−2⋅J Luminous flux incident on a surface
(= lm/m2)
Luminous
exitance /
Mv lux lx L−2⋅J Luminous flux emitted from a surface
luminous
emittance
Luminous
Hv lux second lx⋅s L−2⋅T⋅J Time-integrated illuminance
exposure
lumen
Luminous energy
ωv second per lm⋅s⋅m−3 L−3⋅T⋅J
density
cubic metre
Ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux
lumen per
Luminous efficacy η [nb 3] lm/W M−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅J or power consumption, depending on
watt
context
Luminous
efficiency / Luminous efficacy normalized by the
V 1
luminous maximum possible efficacy
coefficient
See also: SI · Photometry · Radiometry

1. Standards organizations recommend that photometric quantities be denoted with a suffix "v" (for "visual") to avoid
confusion with radiometric or photon quantities. For example: USA Standard Letter Symbols for Illuminating
Engineering USAS Z7.1-1967, Y10.18-1967
2. The symbols in this column denote dimensions; "L", "T" and "J" are for length, time and luminous intensity
respectively, not the symbols for the units litre, tesla and joule.
3. Alternative symbols sometimes seen: W for luminous energy, P or F for luminous flux, and ρ or K for luminous
efficacy.

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