Candela (cd) | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Also known as: candle, candlepower, cd, standard candle

Written and fact-checked by

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

candela (cd), unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI), defined as the luminous intensity in a given direction of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and has a radiant intensity in that same direction of 1/683 watt per steradian (unit solid angle). The candela has replaced the standard candle or lamp as a unit of luminous intensity in calculations involving artificial lighting and is sometimes called the “new candle.”