luminance

(noun)

The amount of light that passes through or that is emitted from a particular area and that falls within a given solid angle.

Related Terms

Examples of luminance in the following topics:

  • Perceiving Motion

    • Motion is perceived when two different retinal pathways, which rely on specific features and luminance, converge together.
    • First-order motion perception occurs through specialized neurons located in the retina, which track motion through luminance.
    • The motion-sensing neurons detect a change in luminance at one point on the retina and correlate it with a change in luminance at a neighboring point on the retina after a short delay.
    • The phi phenomenon is an illusion involving a regular sequence of luminous impulses.
    • Due to first-order motion perception, the luminous impulses are seen as a continual movement.

  • Vision: The Visual System, the Eye, and Color Vision

    • Colors have three attributes: brightness, based on luminance and reflectivity; saturation, based on the amount of white present; and hue, based on color combinations.