Dimensional analysis in the context of "Irradiance"

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⭐ Core Definition: Dimensional analysis

In engineering and science, dimensional analysis of different physical quantities is the analysis of their physical dimension or quantity dimension, defined as a mathematical expression identifying the powers of the base quantities involved (such as length, mass, time, etc.), and tracking these dimensions as calculations or comparisons are performed.The concepts of dimensional analysis and quantity dimension were introduced by Joseph Fourier in 1822.

Commensurable physical quantities have the same dimension and are of the same kind, so they can be directly compared to each other, even if they are expressed in differing units of measurement; e.g., metres and feet, grams and pounds, seconds and years. Incommensurable physical quantities have different dimensions, so can not be directly compared to each other, no matter what units they are expressed in, e.g. metres and grams, seconds and grams, metres and seconds. For example, asking whether a gram is larger than an hour is meaningless.

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👉 Dimensional analysis in the context of Irradiance

In radiometry, irradiance is the radiant flux received by a surface per unit area. The SI unit of irradiance is the watt per square metre (symbol W⋅m or W/m). The CGS unit erg per square centimetre per second (erg⋅cm⋅s) is often used in astronomy. Irradiance is often called intensity, but this term is avoided in radiometry where such usage leads to confusion with radiant intensity. In astrophysics, irradiance is called radiant flux.

Spectral irradiance is the irradiance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength, depending on whether the spectrum is taken as a function of frequency or of wavelength. The two forms have different dimensions and units: spectral irradiance of a frequency spectrum is measured in watts per square metre per hertz (W⋅m⋅Hz), while spectral irradiance of a wavelength spectrum is measured in watts per square metre per metre (W⋅m), or more commonly watts per square metre per nanometre (W⋅m⋅nm).

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Dimensional analysis in the context of Physical constant

A physical constant, sometimes called a fundamental physical constant or universal constant, is a physical quantity that cannot be explained by a theory and therefore must be measured experimentally. It is distinct from a mathematical constant, which has a fixed numerical value, but does not directly involve any physical measurement.

There are many physical constants in science, some of the most widely recognized being the speed of light in vacuum c, the gravitational constant G, the Planck constant h, the electric constant ε0, and the elementary charge e. Physical constants can take many dimensional forms: the speed of light has dimension of length divided by time (TL), while the proton-to-electron mass ratio is dimensionless.

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Dimensional analysis in the context of Speed

In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as v) of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance travelled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as the duration of the time interval approaches zero. Speed is the magnitude of velocity (a vector), which indicates additionally the direction of motion.

Speed has the dimensions of distance divided by time. The SI unit of speed is the metre per second (m/s), but the most common unit of speed in everyday usage is the kilometre per hour (km/h) or, in the US and the UK, miles per hour (mph). For air and marine travel, the knot is commonly used.

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Dimensional analysis in the context of Momentum

In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (pl.: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If m is an object's mass and v is its velocity (also a vector quantity), then the object's momentum p (from Latin pellere "push, drive") is: In the International System of Units (SI), the unit of measurement of momentum is the kilogram metre per second (kg⋅m/s), which is dimensionally equivalent to the newton-second.

Newton's second law of motion states that the rate of change of a body's momentum is equal to the net force acting on it. Momentum depends on the frame of reference, but in any inertial frame of reference, it is a conserved quantity, meaning that if a closed system is not affected by external forces, its total momentum does not change. Momentum is also conserved in special relativity (with a modified formula) and, in a modified form, in electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and general relativity. It is an expression of one of the fundamental symmetries of space and time: translational symmetry.

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Dimensional analysis in the context of List of atomic weights

The standard atomic weight of a chemical element (symbol Ar°(E) for element "E") is the weighted arithmetic mean of the relative isotopic masses of all isotopes of that element weighted by each isotope's abundance on Earth. For example, isotope Cu (Ar = 62.929) constitutes 69% of the copper on Earth, the rest being Cu (Ar = 64.927), so

Relative isotopic mass is dimensionless, and so is the weighted average. It can be converted into a measure of mass (with dimension M) by multiplying it with the atomic mass constant dalton.

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Dimensional analysis in the context of SI base unit

The SI base units are the standard units of measurement defined by the International System of Units (SI) for the seven base quantities of what is now known as the International System of Quantities: they are notably a basic set from which all other SI units can be derived. The units and their physical quantities are the second for time, the metre (sometimes spelled meter) for length or distance, the kilogram for mass, the ampere for electric current, the kelvin for thermodynamic temperature, the mole for amount of substance, and the candela for luminous intensity. The SI base units are a fundamental part of modern metrology, and thus part of the foundation of modern science and technology.

The SI base units form a set of mutually independent dimensions as required by dimensional analysis commonly employed in science and technology.

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Dimensional analysis in the context of Temperature gradient

A temperature gradient is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the temperature changes the most rapidly around a particular location. The temperature spatial gradient is a vector quantity with dimension of temperature difference per unit length. The SI unit is kelvin per meter (K/m).

Temperature gradients in the atmosphere are important in the atmospheric sciences (meteorology, climatology and related fields).

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Dimensional analysis in the context of Inverse second

The inverse second or reciprocal second (s), also called per second, is a unit defined as the multiplicative inverse of the second (a unit of time). It is applicable for physical quantities of dimension reciprocal time, such as frequency and strain rate.

It is dimensionally equivalent to:

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