Apostilb
The apostilb is an obsolete unit of luminance.[1] The SI unit of luminance is the candela per square metre (cd/m2). In 1942 Parry Moon proposed to rename the apostilb the blondel, after the French physicist André Blondel.[2] The symbol for the apostilb is asb.
The apostilb is defined in terms of another unit of luminance, the stilb (sb):
- 1 asb = 1/π ⋅ 10−4 sb
- 3.14 asb = 1 cd/m2
See also
Other units of luminance:
- Lambert (L)
- Skot (sk)
- Bril (bril)
- Nit (nit)
- Foot-lambert (fL)
| Quantity | Unit | Dimension [nb 1] |
Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Symbol[nb 2] | Name | Symbol | ||
| Luminous energy | Qv[nb 3] | lumen second | lm⋅s | T⋅J | The lumen second is sometimes called the talbot. |
| Luminous flux, luminous power | Φv[nb 3] | lumen (= candela steradian) | lm (= cd⋅sr) | J | Luminous energy per unit time |
| Luminous intensity | Iv | candela (= lumen per steradian) | cd (= lm/sr) | J | Luminous flux per unit solid angle |
| Luminance | Lv | candela per square metre | cd/m2 (= lm/(sr⋅m2)) | L−2⋅J | Luminous flux per unit solid angle per unit projected source area. The candela per square metre is sometimes called the nit. |
| Illuminance | Ev | lux (= lumen per square metre) | lx (= lm/m2) | L−2⋅J | Luminous flux incident on a surface |
| Luminous exitance, luminous emittance | Mv | lumen per square metre | lm/m2 | L−2⋅J | Luminous flux emitted from a surface |
| Luminous exposure | Hv | lux second | lx⋅s | L−2⋅T⋅J | Time-integrated illuminance |
| Luminous energy density | ωv | lumen second per cubic metre | lm⋅s/m3 | L−3⋅T⋅J | |
| Luminous efficacy (of radiation) | K | lumen per watt | lm/W | M−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅J | Ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux |
| Luminous efficacy (of a source) | η[nb 3] | lumen per watt | lm/W | M−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅J | Ratio of luminous flux to power consumption |
| Luminous efficiency, luminous coefficient | V | 1 | Luminous efficacy normalized by the maximum possible efficacy | ||
| See also: | |||||
- ^ 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.
- ^ Standards organizations recommend that photometric quantities be denoted with a subscript "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
- ^ a b c Alternative symbols sometimes seen: W for luminous energy, P or F for luminous flux, and ρ for luminous efficacy of a source.
References
- ^ "IPS Perimetric Standards, 1978". Imaging and Perimetry Society. 1978.
- ^ Moon, Parry (June 1942). "A system of photometric concepts". Journal of the Optical Society of America. 32 (6): 356. Bibcode:1942JOSA...32..348M.
The unit is pi times the lumens per square meter per steradian. Such a name is impossibly cumbersome, so a new name is proposed, the blondel, after André Blondel who did pioneer work in photometric nomenclature.