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NIT and MCD refer to different units used to measure luminosity. MCD is short for "milli-candela," or a thousandth of one full unit of candlepower. Rarely, MCD may be short for "mega-candela," or a million candelas. These measurements are used in many different cases, such as to measure the brightness of a particular type of lightbulb or a computer screen. One NIT is precisely equal to one candela. The conversion process of one NIT to one MCD is simple enough and does not require a calculator.
Both the lux and the lumen are units used to describe the illuminance of a surface, so converting between them may be necessary. The lumen is the SI unit for luminous flux and is abbreviated as "lm." The lux is related to the lumen, and is the amount of illumination equivalent to one lumen per square meter. Converting lumens per square centimeter to lux is a simple process. A calculator may be useful.
Light is a form of energy that exists as different wavelengths. Only some of these wavelengths -- the visible spectrum -- can be seen by the human eye. A lumen is a way of measuring how much of the light put out by a light source, whether it is the sun or a desk lamp, is visible to the human eye.
Lux and lumens both measure light, but in different ways. A lux is a metric for the pure intensity of light, or how bright it is at its very brightest. A lumen is somewhat more useful, in that it measures the distribution of light across an area. It is used to measure the relative strengths of light bulbs, for instance. If you are using a light box, you can convert lux to lumens by using a conversion factor to get figures for different areas for the lumens. Since a lumen is equal to a reading of 1 lux over a…
"Lumens" is a measure of how much light a lamp produces in all directions. "Candlepower" is the intensity of light at the center of a spotlight beam when measured in one direction. Thus, strictly speaking, you cannot directly convert lumens to candlepower. However, if a lamp or flashlight is rated by a manufacturer in terms of candlepower, it actually means "mean spherical candlepower." Lumens can be converted to mean spherical candlepower so that a lamp rated in lumens can be compared with a lamp rated in mean spherical candlepower.
The intensity of light is measured in two ways: light created at a source and light contacting a surface. Lumens is a measure of light contacting a surface. Candela is the measure of the intensity of light outputted by a source. MCD is the abbreviation of millicandela, 1/1000 of a candela. As light travels through a medium, like air, it becomes dispersed, making the intensity of light on a source always less than the actual source. This means there is not an exact conversion between the two measurements, rather a close approximation can be achieved.
Lumens and foot-candles essentially measure the same thing--the amount of light arriving at an object or area you want to illuminate. The only catch is that lumens are usually interpreted to measure the amount of light arriving in one square meter--the metric system--while foot-candles measure how much light arrives at a given object one foot away from the light source. The foot-candles measurement is equal to lumens per square foot, so to convert from foot-candles to lumens, you must simply make the conversion from square feet to square meters.
