The lumen (symbol: lm) is the standard unit for the luminous flux of a light source. It is an SI derived unit based on the candela. It can be defined as the luminous flux emitted into unit solid angle (1 sr) by an isotropic point source having a luminous intensity of 1 candela. The unit lumen is then equal to cd x sr.

That is, a light source that uniformly radiates one candela in all directions radiates a total of 4π lumens. If the source were partially covered by an ideal absorbing hemisphere, that system would radiate half as much luminous flux—only 2π lumens. The luminous intensity would still be one candela in those directions that are not obscured.

SI photometry units

Quantity

Symbol

SI unit

Abbr.

Notes

Luminous energy

Qv

lumen second

lm·s

units are sometimes called talbots

Luminous flux

F

lumen (= cd·sr)

lm

also called luminous power

Luminous intensity

Iv

candela (= lm/sr)

cd

an SI base unit

Luminance

Lv

candela per square metre

cd/m2

units are sometimes called “nits”

Illuminance

Ev

lux (= lm/m2)

lx

Used for light incident on a surface

Luminous emittance

Mv

lux (= lm/m2)

lx

Used for light emitted from a surface

Luminous efficacy

lumen per watt

lm/W

ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux

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