Radiant exitance

In radiometry, radiant exitance or radiant emittance is the radiant flux emitted by a surface per unit area, whereas spectral exitance or spectral emittance is the radiant exitance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength, depending on whether the spectrum is taken as a function of frequency or of wavelength. This is the emitted component of radiosity. The SI unit of radiant exitance is the watt per square metre (W/m²), while that of spectral exitance in frequency is the watt per square metre per hertz (W·m⁻²·Hz⁻¹) and that of spectral exitance 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. Radiant exitance is often called "intensity" in branches of physics other than radiometry, but in radiometry this usage leads to confusion with radiant intensity.

Mathematical definitions[]

Radiant exitance[]

Radiant exitance of a surface, denoted M_e ("e" for "energetic", to avoid confusion with photometric quantities), is defined as^[1]

${\displaystyle M_{\mathrm {e} }={\frac {\partial \Phi _{\mathrm {e} }}{\partial A}},}$

where

• ∂ is the partial derivative symbol;
• Φ_e is the radiant flux emitted;
• A is the area.

If we want to talk about the radiant flux received by a surface, we speak of irradiance.

The radiant exitance of a black surface, according to the Stefan–Boltzmann law, is equal to:

${\displaystyle M_{\mathrm {e} }^{\circ }=\sigma T^{4},}$

where

• σ is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant;
• T is the temperature of that surface,

so for a real surface, the radiant exitance is equal to:

${\displaystyle M_{\mathrm {e} }=\varepsilon M_{\mathrm {e} }^{\circ }=\varepsilon \sigma T^{4},}$

where ε is the emissivity of that surface.

Spectral exitance[]

Spectral exitance in frequency of a surface, denoted M_e,ν, is defined as^[1]

${\displaystyle M_{\mathrm {e} ,\nu }={\frac {\partial M_{\mathrm {e} }}{\partial \nu }},}$

where ν is the frequency.

Spectral exitance in wavelength of a surface, denoted M_e,λ, is defined as^[1]

${\displaystyle M_{\mathrm {e} ,\lambda }={\frac {\partial M_{\mathrm {e} }}{\partial \lambda }},}$

where λ is the wavelength.

The spectral exitance of a black surface around a given frequency or wavelength, according to the Lambert's cosine law and the Planck's law, is equal to:

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}M_{\mathrm {e} ,\nu }^{\circ }&=\pi L_{\mathrm {e} ,\Omega ,\nu }^{\circ }={\frac {2\pi \mathrm {h} \nu ^{3}}{c^{2}}}{\frac {1}{e^{\frac {\mathrm {h} \nu }{\mathrm {k} T}}-1}},\\[8pt]M_{\mathrm {e} ,\lambda }^{\circ }&=\pi L_{\mathrm {e} ,\Omega ,\lambda }^{\circ }={\frac {2\pi \mathrm {h} c^{2}}{\lambda ^{5}}}{\frac {1}{e^{\frac {\mathrm {h} c}{\lambda \mathrm {k} T}}-1}},\end{aligned}}}$

where

• h is the Planck constant;
• ν is the frequency;
• λ is the wavelength;
• k is the Boltzmann constant;
• c is the speed of light in the medium;
• T is the temperature of that surface,

so for a real surface, the spectral exitance is equal to:

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}M_{\mathrm {e} ,\nu }&=\varepsilon M_{\mathrm {e} ,\nu }^{\circ }={\frac {2\pi \mathrm {h} \varepsilon \nu ^{3}}{c^{2}}}{\frac {1}{e^{\frac {\mathrm {h} \nu }{\mathrm {k} T}}-1}},\\[8pt]M_{\mathrm {e} ,\lambda }&=\varepsilon M_{\mathrm {e} ,\lambda }^{\circ }={\frac {2\pi \mathrm {h} \varepsilon c^{2}}{\lambda ^{5}}}{\frac {1}{e^{\frac {\mathrm {h} c}{\lambda \mathrm {k} T}}-1}}.\end{aligned}}}$

SI radiometry units[]

SI radiometry units

• v
• t

Quantity		Unit		Dimension	Notes
Name	Symbol[nb 1]	Name	Symbol	Symbol
Radiant energy	Qe[nb 2]	joule	J	M⋅L2⋅T−2	Energy of electromagnetic radiation.
Radiant energy density	we	joule per cubic metre	J/m3	M⋅L−1⋅T−2	Radiant energy per unit volume.
Radiant flux	Φe[nb 2]	watt	W = J/s	M⋅L2⋅T−3	Radiant energy emitted, reflected, transmitted or received, per unit time. This is sometimes also called "radiant power", and called luminosity in Astronomy.
Spectral flux	Φe,ν[nb 3]	watt per hertz	W/Hz	M⋅L2⋅T−2	Radiant flux per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in W⋅nm−1.
	Φe,λ[nb 4]	watt per metre	W/m	M⋅L⋅T−3
Radiant intensity	Ie,Ω[nb 5]	watt per steradian	W/sr	M⋅L2⋅T−3	Radiant flux emitted, reflected, transmitted or received, per unit solid angle. This is a directional quantity.
Spectral intensity	Ie,Ω,ν[nb 3]	watt per steradian per hertz	W⋅sr−1⋅Hz−1	M⋅L2⋅T−2	Radiant intensity per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in W⋅sr−1⋅nm−1. This is a directional quantity.
	Ie,Ω,λ[nb 4]	watt per steradian per metre	W⋅sr−1⋅m−1	M⋅L⋅T−3
Radiance	Le,Ω[nb 5]	watt per steradian per square metre	W⋅sr−1⋅m−2	M⋅T−3	Radiant flux emitted, reflected, transmitted or received by a surface, per unit solid angle per unit projected area. This is a directional quantity. This is sometimes also confusingly called "intensity".
Spectral radiance	Le,Ω,ν[nb 3]	watt per steradian per square metre per hertz	W⋅sr−1⋅m−2⋅Hz−1	M⋅T−2	Radiance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in W⋅sr−1⋅m−2⋅nm−1. This is a directional quantity. This is sometimes also confusingly called "spectral intensity".
	Le,Ω,λ[nb 4]	watt per steradian per square metre, per metre	W⋅sr−1⋅m−3	M⋅L−1⋅T−3
Irradiance Flux density	Ee[nb 2]	watt per square metre	W/m2	M⋅T−3	Radiant flux received by a surface per unit area. This is sometimes also confusingly called "intensity".
Spectral irradiance Spectral flux density	Ee,ν[nb 3]	watt per square metre per hertz	W⋅m−2⋅Hz−1	M⋅T−2	Irradiance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength. This is sometimes also confusingly called "spectral intensity". Non-SI units of spectral flux density include jansky (1 Jy = 10−26 W⋅m−2⋅Hz−1) and solar flux unit (1 sfu = 10−22 W⋅m−2⋅Hz−1 = 104 Jy).
	Ee,λ[nb 4]	watt per square metre, per metre	W/m3	M⋅L−1⋅T−3
Radiosity	Je[nb 2]	watt per square metre	W/m2	M⋅T−3	Radiant flux leaving (emitted, reflected and transmitted by) a surface per unit area. This is sometimes also confusingly called "intensity".
Spectral radiosity	Je,ν[nb 3]	watt per square metre per hertz	W⋅m−2⋅Hz−1	M⋅T−2	Radiosity of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in W⋅m−2⋅nm−1. This is sometimes also confusingly called "spectral intensity".
	Je,λ[nb 4]	watt per square metre, per metre	W/m3	M⋅L−1⋅T−3
Radiant exitance	Me[nb 2]	watt per square metre	W/m2	M⋅T−3	Radiant flux emitted by a surface per unit area. This is the emitted component of radiosity. "Radiant emittance" is an old term for this quantity. This is sometimes also confusingly called "intensity".
Spectral exitance	Me,ν[nb 3]	watt per square metre per hertz	W⋅m−2⋅Hz−1	M⋅T−2	Radiant exitance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in W⋅m−2⋅nm−1. "Spectral emittance" is an old term for this quantity. This is sometimes also confusingly called "spectral intensity".
	Me,λ[nb 4]	watt per square metre, per metre	W/m3	M⋅L−1⋅T−3
Radiant exposure	He	joule per square metre	J/m2	M⋅T−2	Radiant energy received by a surface per unit area, or equivalently irradiance of a surface integrated over time of irradiation. This is sometimes also called "radiant fluence".
Spectral exposure	He,ν[nb 3]	joule per square metre per hertz	J⋅m−2⋅Hz−1	M⋅T−1	Radiant exposure of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in J⋅m−2⋅nm−1. This is sometimes also called "spectral fluence".
	He,λ[nb 4]	joule per square metre, per metre	J/m3	M⋅L−1⋅T−2
Hemispherical emissivity	ε	N/A		1	Radiant exitance of a surface, divided by that of a black body at the same temperature as that surface.
Spectral hemispherical emissivity	εν  or ελ	N/A		1	Spectral exitance of a surface, divided by that of a black body at the same temperature as that surface.
Directional emissivity	εΩ	N/A		1	Radiance emitted by a surface, divided by that emitted by a black body at the same temperature as that surface.
Spectral directional emissivity	εΩ,ν  or εΩ,λ	N/A		1	Spectral radiance emitted by a surface, divided by that of a black body at the same temperature as that surface.
Hemispherical absorptance	A	N/A		1	Radiant flux absorbed by a surface, divided by that received by that surface. This should not be confused with "absorbance".
Spectral hemispherical absorptance	Aν  or Aλ	N/A		1	Spectral flux absorbed by a surface, divided by that received by that surface. This should not be confused with "spectral absorbance".
Directional absorptance	AΩ	N/A		1	Radiance absorbed by a surface, divided by the radiance incident onto that surface. This should not be confused with "absorbance".
Spectral directional absorptance	AΩ,ν  or AΩ,λ	N/A		1	Spectral radiance absorbed by a surface, divided by the spectral radiance incident onto that surface. This should not be confused with "spectral absorbance".
Hemispherical reflectance	R	N/A		1	Radiant flux reflected by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Spectral hemispherical reflectance	Rν  or Rλ	N/A		1	Spectral flux reflected by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Directional reflectance	RΩ	N/A		1	Radiance reflected by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Spectral directional reflectance	RΩ,ν  or RΩ,λ	N/A		1	Spectral radiance reflected by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Hemispherical transmittance	T	N/A		1	Radiant flux transmitted by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Spectral hemispherical transmittance	Tν  or Tλ	N/A		1	Spectral flux transmitted by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Directional transmittance	TΩ	N/A		1	Radiance transmitted by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Spectral directional transmittance	TΩ,ν  or TΩ,λ	N/A		1	Spectral radiance transmitted by a surface, divided by that received by that surface.
Hemispherical attenuation coefficient	μ	reciprocal metre	m−1	L−1	Radiant flux absorbed and scattered by a volume per unit length, divided by that received by that volume.
Spectral hemispherical attenuation coefficient	μν  or μλ	reciprocal metre	m−1	L−1	Spectral radiant flux absorbed and scattered by a volume per unit length, divided by that received by that volume.
Directional attenuation coefficient	μΩ	reciprocal metre	m−1	L−1	Radiance absorbed and scattered by a volume per unit length, divided by that received by that volume.
Spectral directional attenuation coefficient	μΩ,ν  or μΩ,λ	reciprocal metre	m−1	L−1	Spectral radiance absorbed and scattered by a volume per unit length, divided by that received by that volume.
See also: SI · Radiometry · Photometry

See also[]

• Radiosity

References[]