Stilb (unit)

The stilb (sb) is the CGS unit of luminance for objects that are not self-luminous. It is equal to one candela per square centimeter or 104 nits (candelas per square meter). The name was coined by the French physicist André Blondel around 1920.[1] It comes from the Greek word stilbein meaning "to glitter".

It was in common use in Europe up to World War I. In North America self-explanatory terms such as candle per square inch and candle per square meter were more common.[2] The unit has since largely been replaced by the SI unit: candela per square meter. The current national standard for SI in the United States discourages the use of the stilb.[3]

Unit conversion

\mathrm{1\, \frac{cd}{m^2} = 10^{-4}\, sb}

\mathrm{1\, sb = 1\,\frac{cd}{cm^2} = 10^4\,\frac{cd}{m^2}}

\mathrm{1 \, sb = 10^4 \, nit = 10^7 \, millinit}

\mathrm{1 \, sb = 1 \pi \, L = 10^3 \pi \, mL = 10^4 \, \pi \, asb = 10^4 \pi \, blondel = 10^7 \pi \, sk = 10^{11} \pi \, bril}

\mathrm{1 \, sb = 10^4\,\frac{cd}{m^2} \approx 0.3048^2 \cdot 10^4 \cdot \pi \,\, fL = 2918.6...\, fL}

See also

Other units of luminance:

'
Quantity Symbol[nb 1] SI unit Symbol Dimension Notes
Luminous energy Qv [nb 2] lumen second lm⋅s T⋅J units are sometimes called talbots
Luminous flux Φv [nb 2] lumen (= cd⋅sr) lm J also called luminous power
Luminous intensity Iv candela (= lm/sr) cd J [nb 3] an SI base unit, luminous flux per unit solid angle
Luminance Lv candela per square metre cd/m2 L−2⋅J units are sometimes called nits
Illuminance Ev lux (= lm/m2) lx L−2⋅J used for light incident on a surface
Luminous emittance Mv lux (= lm/m2) lx L−2⋅J used for light emitted from a surface
Luminous exposure Hv lux second lx⋅s L−2⋅T⋅J
Luminous energy density ωv lumen second per metre3 lm⋅s⋅m−3 L−3⋅T⋅J
Luminous efficacy η [nb 2] lumen per watt lm/W M−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅J ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux
Luminous efficiency V 1 also called luminous 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.
  2. ^ a b c Alternative symbols sometimes seen: W for luminous energy, P or F for luminous flux, and ρ or K for luminous efficacy.
  3. ^ "J" is the recommended symbol for the dimension of luminous intensity in the International System of Units.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Parry Moon. "System of photometer concepts", in the Journal of the Optical Society of America, volume 32, number 6 (June 1942). – Page 355: "The lumen was proposed by Blondel in 1894 and is now universally accepted. The names, phot and stilb were likewise coined by Blondel (1921) and are in general use on the Continent."
  2. ^ American Standard Definitions of Electrical Terms, New York: American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 1941.
  3. ^ IEEE/ASTM SI 10-2002. American National Standard for Use of the International System of Units (SI): The Modern Metric System. New York: IEEE, 30 December 2002. See Section 3.3.3.