The candela (abbreviation, cd) is the Standard International (SI) unit of luminous intensity. Like other SI base units, the candela has an operational definition—it is defined by a description of a physical process that will produce one candela of luminous intensity.

Since the 16th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in 1979, the candela has been defined. that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function (a standardized model of the sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths, also known as the luminous efficiency function). A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela. If emission in some directions is blocked by an opaque barrier, the emission would still be approximately one candela in the directions that are not obscured.

So A candela is a measurement of the intensity of light, used in the SI measurement system. In the modern age, it is technically defined as the intensity in a given direction of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of a frequency of 540 x 10^12 hertz and which has a radiant intensity in the same direction of 1/683 watts per steradian.

 
 SI photometry units

Quantity

Symbol

SI unit

Abbr.

Notes

Luminous energy

Qv

lumen second

lm·s

units are sometimes called talbots

Luminous flux

F

lumen (= cd·sr)

lm

also called luminous power

Luminous intensity

Iv

candela (= lm/sr)

cd

an SI base unit

Luminance

Lv

candela per square metre

cd/m2

units are sometimes called “nits”

Illuminance

Ev

lux (= lm/m2)

lx

Used for light incident on a surface

Luminous emittance

Mv

lux (= lm/m2)

lx

Used for light emitted from a surface

Luminous efficacy

lumen per watt

lm/W

ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux