What Do You Call the Quantity When You Multiply Light Flux by Detector Area?

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Multiplying light flux by the area of a detector yields a quantity measured in watts, which is technically considered power. However, the discussion seeks the correct term for this quantity, distinguishing it from luminosity, which refers to the total energy emitted by an object. The conversation suggests that the term "radiant flux" may be more appropriate, as it describes the energy per unit area per second detected. This highlights the difference between total emitted energy and the energy received by a specific detector area. The focus remains on accurately defining the measurement related to light detection.
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If you take the Flux of a light source and multiple by the area of your detector you are left with a quantity in units of only watts.

Now this is technically "power", but what is the correct term for this quantity?
 
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Mu naught said:
If you take the Flux of a light source and multiple by the area of your detector you are left with a quantity in units of only watts.

Now this is technically "power", but what is the correct term for this quantity?

Are you talking about luminosity?

Luminosity is a function of the amount of light output (brightness or flux) per given unit of surface area multiplied by the total surface area.L= b*((d^2)*pi*4)

L=luminosity (watts)
b=brightness or flux ("watts/meters^2")
d=diameter of star (meters)
((d^2)*pi*4)=surface area (meters^2)

It's basically the surface area (m^2) of the sphere multiplied by the brightness per unit of area. Which finds the total output (commonly shown in the form of watts.).
 
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No, because luminosity describes the total amount of energy emitted by an object.

I'm talking about multiplying the apparent brightness of an object by the area of a detector to get the total amount of energy per second falling on that detector. I believe there is a certain term for this that is not "power" but I don't know what that term is.
 
I think you're talking about "radiant flux" if you are talking about the amount per surface area unit per second observed by a detector.
 

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