Radiant flux

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In radiometry, radiant flux or radiant power is the measure of the total power of electromagnetic radiation (including infrared, ultraviolet, and visible light). The power may be the total emitted from a source, or the total landing on a particular surface.

[edit] Units

The SI unit of radiant flux is the watt (W), which has dimensions of energy/time or, in SI units joules/second.

[edit] See also

• Luminous flux
• Power (physics)
• Radiosity (heat transfer)

[edit]

SI radiometry units

Quantity	Symbol	SI unit	Abbr.	Notes
Radiant energy	Q	joule	J	energy
Radiant flux	Φ	watt	W	radiant energy per unit time, also called radiant power
Radiant intensity	I	watt per steradian	W·sr−1	power per unit solid angle
Radiance	L	watt per steradian per square metre	W·sr−1·m−2	power per unit solid angle per unit projected source area. Sometimes confusingly called "intensity".
Irradiance	E, I	watt per square metre	W·m−2	power incident on a surface. Sometimes confusingly called "intensity".
Radiant exitance / Radiant emittance	M	watt per square metre	W·m−2	power emitted from a surface.
Radiosity	J or Jλ	watt per square metre	W·m−2	emitted plus reflected power leaving a surface
Spectral radiance	Lλ or Lν	watt per steradian per metre3 or watt per steradian per square metre per hertz	W·sr−1·m−3 or W·sr−1·m−2·Hz−1	commonly measured in W·sr−1·m−2·nm−1
Spectral irradiance	Eλ or Eν	watt per metre3 or watt per square metre per hertz	W·m−3 or W·m−2·Hz−1	commonly measured in W·m−2·nm−1