Radiant exitance

In radiometry, radiant exitance or radiant emittance is the radiant flux emitted by a surface per unit area, whereas spectral exitance or spectral emittance is the radiant exitance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength, depending on whether the spectrum is taken as a function of frequency or of wavelength. This is the emitted component of radiosity. The SI unit of radiant exitance is the watt per square metre (W/m²), while that of spectral exitance in frequency is the watt per square metre per hertz (W·m⁻²·Hz⁻¹) and that of spectral exitance in wavelength is the watt per square metre per metre (W·m⁻³)—commonly the watt per square metre per nanometre (W·m⁻²·nm⁻¹). The CGS unit erg per square centimeter per second (erg·cm⁻²·s⁻¹) is often used in astronomy. Radiant exitance is often called "intensity" in branches of physics other than radiometry, but in radiometry this usage leads to confusion with radiant intensity.