Radiosity | |
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Common symbols | |
SI unit | W·m−2 |
Other units | erg·cm−2·s−1 |
Dimension | M T−3 |
In radiometry, radiosity is the radiant flux leaving (emitted, reflected and transmitted by) a surface per unit area, and spectral radiosity is the radiosity of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength, depending on whether the spectrum is taken as a function of frequency or of wavelength.[1] The SI unit of radiosity is the watt per square metre (W/m2), while that of spectral radiosity in frequency is the watt per square metre per hertz (W·m−2·Hz−1) and that of spectral radiosity in wavelength is the watt per square metre per metre (W·m−3)—commonly the watt per square metre per nanometre (W·m−2·nm−1). The CGS unit erg per square centimeter per second (erg·cm−2·s−1) is often used in astronomy. Radiosity is often called intensity[2] in branches of physics other than radiometry, but in radiometry this usage leads to confusion with radiant intensity.