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Flick (physics)

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In optical engineering and telecommunications engineering, the flick is a unit of spectral radiance. One flick corresponds to a spectral radiance of 1 watt per steradian per square centimeter of surface per micrometer of span in wavelength (W·sr−1·cm−2·μm−1). This is equivalent to 1010 watts per steradian per cubic meter (W·sr−1·m−3). In practice, spectral radiance is typically measured in microflicks (10−6 flicks).[1] One microflick is equivalent to 10 kilowatts per steradian per cubic meter (kW·sr−1·m−3).[2]

History

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In radio astronomy, the unit flik was coined by a group at Lockheed in Palo Alto, California as a substitute for the SI derived unit W cm−2 sr−1 μm−1, or watts divided by centimeters squared, steradians, and micrometers.[3] While originally used only at Lockheed, many in the radio astronomy field adopted its use.

References

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  1. ^ Palmer, James M. "The SI system and SI units for Radiometry and photometry" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-02. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  2. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement". Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  3. ^ Schlessinger (1994). Infrared Technology Fundamentals, 2nd ed. CRC Press. p. 21. ISBN 9780824792596.