Brightness

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Decreasing brightness with depth (underwater photo as example) LightningVolt Deep Blue Sea.jpg
Decreasing brightness with depth (underwater photo as example)

Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to be radiating or reflecting light. [1] In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target. The perception is not linear to luminance, and relies on the context of the viewing environment (for example, see White's illusion).

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Brightness is a subjective sensation of an object being observed and one of the color appearance parameters of many color appearance models, typically denoted as . Brightness refers to how much light appears to shine from something. This is a different perception than lightness, which is how light something appears compared to a similarly lit white object. [2]

The adjective bright derives from an Old English beorht with the same meaning via metathesis giving Middle English briht. The word is from a Common Germanic *berhtaz, ultimately from a PIE root with a closely related meaning, *bhereg- "white, bright". "Brightness" was formerly used as a synonym for the photometric term luminance and (incorrectly) for the radiometric term radiance . As defined by the US Federal Glossary of Telecommunication Terms (FS-1037C), "brightness" should now be used only for non-quantitative references to physiological sensations and perceptions of light. [3] Brightness is an antonym of "dimness" or "dullness".

With regard to stars, brightness is quantified as apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude.

Two pictograms resembling the Sun with rays are used to represent the settings of luminance in display devices. They have been encoded in Unicode since version 6.0 (October 2010) in the Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block under U+1505 as "low brightness symbol" (🔅) and U+1F506 as "high brightness symbol" (🔆). [4]

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has assigned an unconventional meaning to brightness when applied to lamps. When appearing on light bulb packages, brightness means luminous flux, while in other contexts it means luminance. [5] Luminous flux is the total amount of light coming from a source, such as a lighting device. Luminance, the original meaning of brightness, is the amount of light per solid angle coming from an area, such as the sky. The table below shows the standard ways of indicating the amount of light.

SI photometry quantities
QuantityUnitDimension
[nb 1] 		Notes
NameSymbol [nb 2] NameSymbol
Luminous energy Qv [nb 3] lumen second lm⋅sT⋅JThe lumen second is sometimes called the talbot.
Luminous flux, luminous powerΦ v [nb 3] lumen (= candela steradian)lm (= cd⋅sr)JLuminous energy per unit time
Luminous intensity Iv candela (= lumen per steradian) cd (= lm/sr)JLuminous flux per unit solid angle
Luminance Lv candela per square metre cd/m2 (= lm/(sr⋅m2))L−2⋅JLuminous 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⋅JLuminous flux incident on a surface
Luminous exitance, luminous emittanceMvlumen per square metrelm/m2L−2⋅JLuminous flux emitted from a surface
Luminous exposure Hv lux second lx⋅sL−2⋅T⋅JTime-integrated illuminance
Luminous energy densityωvlumen second per cubic metrelm⋅s/m3L−3⋅T⋅J
Luminous efficacy (of radiation)Klumen per watt lm/W M−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅JRatio of luminous flux to radiant flux
Luminous efficacy (of a source)η [nb 3] lumen per watt lm/W M−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅JRatio of luminous flux to power consumption
Luminous efficiency, luminous coefficientV1Luminous efficacy normalized by the maximum possible efficacy
See also:
  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ 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
  3. 1 2 3 Alternative symbols sometimes seen: W for luminous energy, P or F for luminous flux, and ρ for luminous efficacy of a source.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candela</span> SI unit of luminous intensity

The candela is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to radiant intensity, but instead of simply adding up the contributions of every wavelength of light in the source's spectrum, the contribution of each wavelength is weighted by the luminous efficiency function, the model of the sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths, standardized by the CIE and ISO. A common wax candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela. If emission in some directions is blocked by an opaque barrier, the emission would still be approximately one candela in the directions that are not obscured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminance</span> Photometric measure

Luminance is a photometric measure of the luminous intensity per unit area of light travelling in a given direction. It describes the amount of light that passes through, is emitted from, or is reflected from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle.

The candela per square metre is the unit of luminance in the International System of Units (SI). The unit is based on the candela, the SI unit of luminous intensity, and the square metre, the SI unit of area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lux</span> SI derived unit of illuminance

The lux is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the human eye, of light that hits or passes through a surface. It is analogous to the radiometric unit watt per square metre, but with the power at each wavelength weighted according to the luminosity function, a model of human visual brightness perception, standardized by the CIE and ISO. In English, "lux" is used as both the singular and plural form. The word is derived from the Latin word for "light", lux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposure (photography)</span> Amount of light captured by a camera

In photography, exposure is the amount of light per unit area reaching a frame of photographic film or the surface of an electronic image sensor. It is determined by shutter speed, lens F-number, and scene luminance. Exposure is measured in units of lux-seconds, and can be computed from exposure value (EV) and scene luminance in a specified region.

In photometry, luminous intensity is a measure of the wavelength-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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photometry (optics)</span> Science of the measurement of visible light

Photometry is a branch of science that deals with the measurement of light in terms of its perceived brightness to the human eye. It is concerned with quantifying the amount of light that is emitted, transmitted, or received by an object or a system.

In radiometry, radiance is the radiant flux emitted, reflected, transmitted or received by a given surface, per unit solid angle per unit projected area. Radiance is used to characterize diffuse emission and reflection of electromagnetic radiation, and to quantify emission of neutrinos and other particles. The SI unit of radiance is the watt per steradian per square metre. It is a directional quantity: the radiance of a surface depends on the direction from which it is being observed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminous flux</span> Perceived luminous power

In photometry, luminous flux or luminous power is the measure of the perceived power of light. It differs from radiant flux, the measure of the total power of electromagnetic radiation, in that luminous flux is adjusted to reflect the varying sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths of light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illuminance</span> Luminous flux incident on a surface per area

In photometry, illuminance is the total luminous flux incident on a surface, per unit area. It is a measure of how much the incident light illuminates the surface, wavelength-weighted by the luminosity function to correlate with human brightness perception. Similarly, luminous emittance is the luminous flux per unit area emitted from a surface. Luminous emittance is also known as luminous exitance.

The lumen is the unit of luminous flux, a measure of the perceived power of visible light emitted by a source, in the International System of Units (SI). Luminous flux differs from power in that radiant flux includes all electromagnetic waves emitted, while luminous flux is weighted according to a model of the human eye's sensitivity to various wavelengths; this weighting is standardized by the CIE and ISO. One lux is one lumen per square metre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectral power distribution</span>

In radiometry, photometry, and color science, a spectral power distribution (SPD) measurement describes the power per unit area per unit wavelength of an illumination. More generally, the term spectral power distribution can refer to the concentration, as a function of wavelength, of any radiometric or photometric quantity.

Luminous efficacy is a measure of how well a light source produces visible light. It is the ratio of luminous flux to power, measured in lumens per watt in the International System of Units (SI). Depending on context, the power can be either the radiant flux of the source's output, or it can be the total power consumed by the source. Which sense of the term is intended must usually be inferred from the context, and is sometimes unclear. The former sense is sometimes called luminous efficacy of radiation, and the latter luminous efficacy of a light source or overall luminous efficacy.

A foot-lambert or footlambert is a unit of luminance in United States customary units and some other unit systems. A foot-lambert equals 1/π or 0.3183 candela per square foot, or 3.426 candela per square meter. The foot-lambert is named after Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777), a Swiss-German mathematician, physicist and astronomer. It is rarely used by electrical and lighting engineers, who prefer the candela per square foot or candela per square meter units.

In photometry, the lumen second (lm⋅s) is the unit of luminous energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is based on the lumen, the SI unit of luminous flux, and the second, the SI base unit of time.

In photometry, luminous energy is the perceived energy of light. This is sometimes called the quantity of light. Luminous energy is not the same as radiant energy, the corresponding objective physical quantity. This is because 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, the eye is most sensitive to light at a wavelength of 555 nm. Light with a given amount of radiant energy will have more luminous energy if the wavelength is 555 nm than if the wavelength is longer or shorter. Light whose wavelength is well outside the visible spectrum has a luminous energy of zero, regardless of the amount of radiant energy present.

The lambert is a non-SI metric unit of luminance named for Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777), a Swiss mathematician, physicist and astronomer. A related unit of luminance, the foot-lambert, is used in the lighting, cinema and flight simulation industries. The SI unit is the candela per square metre (cd/m2).

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. It comes from the Greek word stilbein (στίλβειν), meaning 'to glitter'.

The apostilb is an obsolete unit of luminance. 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. The symbol for the apostilb is asb.

The bril is an old, non-SI, unit of luminance. The SI unit of luminance is the candela per square metre.

References

  1. ↑ "Bright Definition & Meaning", Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
  2. ↑ Robert William Gainer Hunt: Some comments on using the CIECAM97s colour-appearance model
  3. ↑ “Brightness” in Federal Standard 1037C, the Federal Glossary of Telecommunication Terms (1996)
  4. ↑ "Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs" (PDF). Unicode Consortium. 2023.
  5. ↑ "Shopping for Light Bulbs". United States Federal Trade Commission . Retrieved March 13, 2017.

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