Everything you should know about Light Measurement

Posted by SEOEngineer on May 20th, 2021

It’s essential to understand the different terms related to light measurement, to understand the entire concept altogether. This article covers it all by measuring light in the electromagnetic spectrum to understanding perceived brightness in our eyes. 

The industry uses various tools and tricks to measure light, depending upon the information they have. Here are the most common units and terms:

1. Flux or Luminous Flux: The term was coined in Latin from the original word ‘Fluxus,’ meaning flow. This is the amount of energy a light emits in a particular second and is measured in lumens. 
2. When it comes to lighting, another important term is watts (W). This is the electricity consumption versus light output. They are usually measured for the human perception of power. 
3. Lumen (lm) is the SI unit of flux as a unit flow. 
4. The intensity of light is again by Candela. The quantity of light emitted in unit time. 
5. Illuminance, or the amount of luminous flux per unit area: Lux is the most common way of measuring it. One lux is usually the amount of one lumen per square meter. 

Once you hang these terms, let’s move to other important concepts of light measurement and tools like ISO 17025 and Kalibration, and more. 

First of all, the most important concept regarding light measurement is radiometry. This is because it is applied in a wide array of sensing and measuring light. Some of the most common applications of radiometry are:

1. Astrophysics
2. Night-vision devices
3. Diagnostic medicine 
4. Illumination engineering
5. Television systems 
6. Clinical medicine
7. Colorimetry and more. 

Another important concept is Photometry, where kalibration comes into the picture. Knowing about Photometry is essential to understand light and how it functions completely. As with radiometry, the applications are pretty diverse; with Photometry, you can actually measure the light in these night vision devices and more. 

Another aspect of light measurement is spectrometry. It is used in various fields, including astronomy and spacecraft. We can use the spectra to identify the chemical makeup of different objects and look for tools that are in space- monitoring their temperature and velocity. 

There is also a biomedical application of the technique. Different diagnostic ways are governed by spectrometry. We can identify the molecules based on their spectral absorption at a particular wavelength. All in all, the light measure is a broad topic and includes multiple streams. 

For more information please visit: Kalibration