In photometry, the lumen second (lm⋅s) is the unit of luminous energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is based on the lumen, the SI unit of luminous flux, and the second, the SI base unit of time.

The lumen second is sometimes called the talbot (symbol T). This name was coined in 1937 by the Committee on Colorimetry, Optical Society of America, in honor of the early photographer William Fox Talbot. The talbot is exactly equal to the lumen second:

1 T = 1 lm⋅s

The use of the symbol T for talbots conflicts with T as the symbol for the tesla, the SI unit of magnetic flux density.

The photometric unit lumerg or lumberg, proposed by the Committee on Colorimetry in 1937, correlates with the old CGS unit erg in the same way that the lumen second correlates with the radiometric unit joule, so that 107 lumerg=1lm⋅s.

SI photometry quantitiesvte
QuantityUnitDimensionNotes
NameSymbolNameSymbol
Luminous energyQvlumen secondlm⋅sTJThe lumen second is sometimes called the talbot.
Luminous flux, luminous powerΦvlumen (=candela steradian)lm (=cd⋅sr)JLuminous energy per unit time
Luminous intensityIvcandela (=lumen per steradian)cd (=lm/sr)JLuminous flux per unit solid angle
LuminanceLvcandela per square metrecd/m2 (=lm/(sr⋅m2))L−2⋅JLuminous flux per unit solid angle per unit projected source area. The candela per square metre is sometimes called the nit.
IlluminanceEvlux (=lumen per square metre)lx (=lm/m2)L−2⋅JLuminous flux incident on a surface
Luminous exitance, luminous emittanceMvlumen per square metrelm/m2L−2⋅JLuminous flux emitted from a surface
Luminous exposureHvlux secondlx⋅sL−2⋅TJTime-integrated illuminance
Luminous energy densityωvlumen second per cubic metrelm⋅s/m3L−3⋅TJ
Luminous efficacy (of radiation)Klumen per wattlm/WM−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅JRatio of luminous flux to radiant flux
Luminous efficacy (of a source)ηlumen per wattlm/WM−1⋅L−2⋅T3⋅JRatio of luminous flux to power consumption
Luminous efficiency, luminous coefficientV1Luminous efficacy normalized by the maximum possible efficacy
See also: SIPhotometryRadiometry