Photometry Optics

Lamberts law 2.4.04-00

What you can learn about

 Luminous flux
 Light quantity
 Light intensity
 Illuminance
 Luminance

Principle:
Visible light impinges on a diffusely
reflecting surface. The luminance of
this surface is determined as a func-
tion of the angle of observation.

What you need:

Housing for experiment lamp 08129.01 1
Halogen lamp, 12 V/50 W 08129.06 1
Holder G 6.35 f. 50/100 W halo. lamp 08129.04 1
Double condenser, f = 60 mm 08137.00 1
Lens holder 08012.00 1
Lens, mounted, f = +200 mm 08024.01 1
Zinc sulfide screen 08450.00 1
Right angle clamp -PASS- 02040.55 4
Tripod base -PASS- 02002.55 1
Barrel base -PASS- 02006.55 1
Stand tube 02060.00 1
Support rod, stainl.steel, l = 100 mm 02030.00 1
Support rod -PASS-, square, l = 250 mm 02025.55 1
Support rod -PASS-, square, l = 1000 mm 02028.55 1
Articulated radial holder 02053.01 1
Graduated disk, f. demonstration 02053.02 1
Universal clamp with joint 37716.00 1 Illuminance as a function of cos .
Power supply 0-12 V DC/6 V, 12 V AC 13505.93 1
Lux meter, hand-held 07137.00 1
Measuring module lux 12107.00 1
Tasks:
Complete Equipment Set, Manual on CD-ROM included 1. The luminous flux emitted reflect-
ed by a diffusely reflecting surface
Lamberts law P2240400 is to be determined as a function
of the angle of observation.
2. Lamberts law (cos-law) is to be
verified using the graph of the
measurement values.

PHYWE Systeme GmbH & Co. KG D - 37070 Gttingen Laboratory Experiments Physics 105
 LEP
Lamberts law 2.4.04
-00

Related topics Tasks

luminous flux, light quantity, light intensity, illuminance, lumi- 1. The luminous flux emitted reflected by a diffusely reflecting
nance. surface is to be determined as a function of the angle of
observation.
Principle 2. Lamberts law (cos-law) is to be verified using the graph of
the measurement values.
Visible light impinges on a diffusely reflecting surface. The
luminance of this surface is determined as a function of the
angle of observation. Set up and procedure
The stand tube is introduced into the articulated radial holder,
Equipment which is fitted with an angular scale, until it goes no further.
The articulated radial holder is then attached to the tripod
Housing for experiment lamp 08129.01 1 base, after which the tripod rods are clamped each with an
Halogen lamp, 12 V/50 W 08129.06 1 edge facing upward. The luxmeter probe is attached to the
Holder G 6.35 f. 50/100 W halo. lamp 08129.04 1 short support rod using the universal clamp in such a way that
Double condenser, f = 60 mm 08137.00 1 it points to the pivoting centre whilst being aligned with the
Lens holder 08012.00 1 rod. The rest of the set up is shown in Fig. 1. The distances of
Lens, mounted, f = +200 mm 08024.01 1 the components from the pivot centre are shown in Fig. 2.
Zinc sulfide screen 08450.00 1
Right angle clamp -PASS- 02040.55 4 On the luminous screen, the surface of which is directed per-
Tripod base -PASS- 02002.55 1 pendicularly to the optical axis to start with, a circular surface
Barrel base -PASS- 02006.55 1 (# approx. 6 cm) with a sharp edge is uniformly illuminated by
Stand tube 02060.00 1 shifting lens L1 and the lamp holder. The screen is then turned
Support rod, stainl.steel, l = 100 mm 02030.00 1 so that a line perpendicular to its surface forms an angle of 15
Support rod -PASS-, square, l = 250 mm 02025.55 1 with the optical axis. The luxmeter probe now points towards
Support rod -PASS-, square, l = 1000 mm 02028.55 1 the centre of the circle.
Articulated radial holder 02053.01 1 The luxmeter should be calibrated before carrying out the
Graduated disk, f. demonstration 02053.02 1 actual measurement. Luminous intensity is measured for
Universal clamp with joint 37716.00 1 angular steps of 510, keeping the screen stationary. For
Power supply 0-12 V DC/6 V, 12 V AC 13505.93 1 every step, the residual background light must be measured
Lux meter, hand-held 07137.00 1 with the lamp switched off and the obtained value taken into
Measuring module lux 12107.00 1 account for evaluation.

Fig. 1: Experimental set-up: Lamberts law.

PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen 22404-00 1
 LEP
2.4.04 Lamberts law
-00

Fig. 2: Schematic sketch of component positions. Fig. 4: Illuminance as a function of cos X.

Due to its rough surface, the zinc-sulphide screen provides a

practically ideal diffuse reflecting Lambert source.

Theory and evaluation

A punctual light source which has a luminous intensity I According to (1), the luminous flux is proportional to cos X
(Candela/cd) emits a light flux (Lumen/lm) throughout the spa- within a spatial angle (Lamberts law). According to (3), this
tial angle. Luminous intensity within a spatial angle element also is valid for the illuminance, which can be determined by
dW is: means of a luxmeter.
I = d' / dW [ cd ] (1) Fig. 4 shows the measured illuminance values E as a function
of cos X. Linearity is the verification of Lamberts law.
For extended light sources( also such which are not luminous If the illuminance values are plotted as intensity vectors in a
by themselves, but reflecting) the following relation is valid if polar co-ordinate system against X* = 90 X (Fig. 5), then the
luminance is called B extremities of the vectors are located on a circle with centre
co-ordinates ( S = E0 /2 ; X* = 90 ).
B = dI / dA [ cd/cm2 ] (2)
Note: circle with radius R and centre (x = 0; y = R/2)
If a surface dA* is illuminated by a light beam with flux d', x2 + (y -R )2 = R2
illuminance E (Lux/lx) is: Transformation to polar co-ordinates with
x = S cos X* and y = S sin X,
E = d' / dA* [ lx ] (3) S = 2 R sin X* , with X*= 90- X yields
S = 2 R cos X
The luminance of a surface which reflects diffusely and uni- With 2 R = E0 and S = E, Fig. 5 is verified.
formly in all directions (Lambert-Reflector) in the direction of
an angle X against the normal to the surface is given by the
following relation (Fig. 3):

B = dIX / dA
= dIX / dA cos X = dI0 / dA (4)

Thus:

dIX = dI0 cos X (5)

Fig. 3: Dependence between luminance and direction of

observation. Fig. 5: Illuminance as a function of X* in polar co-ordinates.

2 22404-00 PHYWE series of publications Lab. Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen