Orders of magnitude (luminance)

From HandWiki

This page lists examples of luminances, measured in candelas per square metre and grouped by order of magnitude.

Factor
(cd/m2)
Multiple Value Item
10−6 µcd/m2 1 µcd/m2 Absolute threshold of vision[1]
10−5
10−4 400 µcd/m2 Darkest sky[2]
10−3 mcd/m2 1 mcd/m2 Night sky[3]
1.4 mcd/m2 Typical photographic scene lit by full moon[4]
5 mcd/m2 Approximate scotopic/mesopic threshold[5]
10−2 40 mcd/m2 Phosphorescent markings on a watch dial after 1 h in the dark[6][7]
10−1
100 cd/m2 2 cd/m2 Floodlit buildings, monuments, and fountains[8]
5 cd/m2 Approximate mesopic/photopic threshold[5]
101 25 cd/m2 Typical photographic scene at sunrise or sunset[4]
30 cd/m2 Green electroluminescent source[2]
55 cd/m2 Standard SMPTE cinema screen luminance[9]
80 cd/m2 Monitor white in the sRGB reference viewing environment
102 250 cd/m2 Peak luminance of a typical LCD monitor[10][11]
700 cd/m2 Typical photographic scene on overcast day[4][8][11]
103 kcd/m2 2 kcd/m2 Average cloudy sky[2]
2.5 kcd/m2 Moon surface[2][3]
5 kcd/m2 Typical photographic scene in full sunlight[4][8]
7 kcd/m2 Average clear sky[1][2][3][11]
104 10 kcd/m2 White illuminated cloud[3]
12 kcd/m2 Fluorescent lamp[2][3]
75 kcd/m2 Low pressure sodium-vapor lamp[3]
105 130 kcd/m2 Frosted incandescent light bulb[2][3][11]
600 kcd/m2 Solar disk at horizon[2]
106 Mcd/m2 7 Mcd/m2 Filament of a clear incandescent lamp[12]
107
108 100 Mcd/m2 Possible retinal damage[1]
109 Gcd/m2 1.6 Gcd/m2 Solar disk at noon[2][3]

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hahn, Lance (1996). "Photometric Units". Robert G. Smith. http://retina.anatomy.upenn.edu/~rob/lance/units_photometric.html.  (see http://retina.anatomy.upenn.edu/~rob/lance/articles.html for the references within)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Mischler, Georg. "Lighting Design Glossary – Luminance". http://www.schorsch.com/en/kbase/glossary/luminance.html. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Lighting Application". http://www.nvc-lighting.com/showuseInfo.Aspx?typeID=42&ID=94. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 based on Orders of magnitude (illuminance), assuming a typical photographic scene has the same reflectance as an 18% gray card
  5. 5.0 5.1 Halonen, Liisa; Bizjak, Grega. "CIE Mesopic photometry – implementation for outdoor lighting". University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, laboratory of Lighting and Photometry. http://www.sdr.si/dokumenti/p01.pdf. 
  6. "Luminosity in Watches". 2011-09-29. first decay graph of section 3.4 – The Afterglow. http://www.kronometric.org/article/lume/. 
  7. "Characteristic and comparison between LumiNova G Series and conventional pigment". Nemoto Lumi-Materials. 2011-11-09. afterglow graph on p. 1. http://www.nemoto.co.jp/en/products/luminova/pdf/Luminova-G.pdf. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 based on this table of exposure values, assuming a reflected-light meter calibration constant of 12.5 cd·s/m2
  9. "Screen Luminance Data Sheet". Harkness Screens International. http://www.harkness-screens.com/pdfs/general-info/Screen%20Luminance.pdf. 
  10. "Brightness and Contrast Ratio". Screen Tek. http://www.screentekinc.com/resource-center/brightness-and-contrast-ratio.shtml. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 When sources quote wide ranges of possible values, a (rounded) geometric mean of those values is reported here.[why?] The luminance of the sky in particular, varies by location, season, weather, time of day and part of the sky. The sky near the horizon is often about half as bright as at zenith, which in turn is often about half as bright as the sky near the sun. Dr. Andrew J. Marsh has created an interactive web application that can be used to visualise different sky conditions.
  12. "Basics of light and lighting". Philips Lighting Academy. 2008. p. 29. http://www.lighting.philips.com/pwc_li/au_en/connect/Assets/basicsoflight.pdf.