foot-candle

or foot·can·dle

[ foot-kan-dl ]

noun

, Optics.

1. a unit of illuminance or illumination, equivalent to the illumination produced by a source of one candle at a distance of one foot and equal to one lumen incident per square foot. : FC

foot-candle

noun

1. a former unit of illumination, equal to one lumen per square foot or 10.764 lux

Word History and Origins

Origin of foot-candle¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Even before the code was issued, the National Council on Schoolhouse Construction, which was represented on a committee of 15 groups collaborating in the study, had adopted a resolution in convention withholding approval of the 15 foot-candle minimum until "scientific" tests had been made.

From Time Magazine Archive

If a source of light has a luminous intensity of one candle in all directions, the illumination at a distance of one foot in any direction is said to be a foot-candle.

From Project Gutenberg

A lumen is the quantity of light which falls on one square foot if the intensity of illumination is one foot-candle.

From Project Gutenberg