Irradiance
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'''Irradiance''', '''radiant emittance''', and '''radiant exitance''' are [[radiometry]] terms for the power of [[electromagnetic radiation]] at a surface, per unit [[area]]. "Irradiance" is used when the electromagnetic radiation is incident on the surface. "Radiant exitance" or "radiant emittance" is used when the radiation is emerging from the surface. The [[SI]] units for all of these quantities are [[watt]]s per [[square metre]] (W·m<sup>-2</sup>), while the [[centimeter-gram-second|cgs]] units are [[ergs]] per [[square centimeter]] per [[second]] (erg·cm<sup>-2</sup>·s<sup>-1</sup>, often used in [[astronomy]]). These quantities are sometimes called [[intensity]], but this usage leads to confusion with [[radiant intensity]], which has different units.
All of these quantities characterize the total amount of radiation present, at all frequencies. It is also common to consider each frequency in the spectrum separately. When this is done for radiation incident on a surface, it is called '''spectral irradiance''', and has SI units W·m<sup>-3</sup>, or commonly W·m<sup>-2</sup>·nm<sup>-1</sup>.
If a point source radiates light uniformly in all directions and there is no absorption, then the irradiance drops off in proportion to the distance from the object squared, since the total power is constant and it is spread over an area that increases with the square of the distance from the source.
{{SI radiometry units}}
== See also ==
*[[Photometry (optics)]] Main Photometry/Radiometry article - explains technical terms
* [[Albedo]]
* [[Illuminance]]
* [[Fluence]]
* [[Insolation]]
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[[Category:Physical quantity]]
[[Category:Radiometry]]
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