Experimental Measurement of Illumination – Part 1

Freshman Clinic

Experimental Measurement of Illumination – Part 1

For this experiment you will characterize the light emitting from various types of light bulbs. As
discussed in class, each bulb uses electrical energy to emit photons. However, the mechanisms used to
produce the photons differ from bulb to bulb. This lab will allow you to quantify differences in emit
ance (or luminance) of bulbs, as well as the resulting luminance on nearby surfaces.

Materials Needed
 Lamp stand (with fixtures for clamping)  Various types of light bulbs
 Protractor  Kill-o-Watt meter
 ~36 inches of string  Lux meter

Experiment Setup
The goal of the lab is to measure the luminous flux emitting from each bulb, as well as luminance on
nearby surfaces as a function of the angle away from the centerline of the bulb. We will accomplish this
by taking discrete measurements around the bulb and integrating numerically to find the total luminous
flux. The protractor and the fixed length of string will give us the coordinate locations for our data
points. Numerical integration techniques will be discussed later.

A side view sketch of the experimental setup is shown in Figure 1. The protractor anchors the string and
sits at a fixed height, h, below the centerline of the lamp. The string connects the protractor to the lux
meter along a length, d, which also remains fixed allowing calculation of the distance, r. A top view
sketch of the experimental setup is shown in Figure 2. The meter is kept a fixed distance r from the bulb
by the string while the protractor is used to measure the angle, , between a centerline and the meter.

Ensure that your station is setup in a similar fashion to the figure. Try to set the pivot of the protractor
directly below the center of the bulb, and orient the bulb so that it points horizontally.

Light bulb Lux meter

h
l d

Optics table Protractor

Figure 1. Side view of experimental setup.

1
Experimental Measurement of Illumination – Part 1
Freshman Clinic

Light bulb




Lux meter

Figure 2. Plan view of experimental setup.

Experiment Procedure
Getting Started
1. Ensure that the lamp is affixed to the table securely. If it not already done, attach the protractor
to optics table at the base of the lamp. The protractor should be aligned with the pivot under
the bulb and housing on the lamp stand.
2. Ensure that the lamp is plugged into the Kill-o-Watt meter. The meter will measure the power
flowing to the lamp when the lamp is on. Set the Kill-o-Watt meter to measure Watts.
3. Separate the sensor from the body of the Lux meter. Remove the black cap from the sensor; do
not lose the cap. Set the range on the Lux meter to X10. Orient the sensor so that it is normal
to some light source in the room. Note how the reading changes if the sensor is not normal to
the source.

Data Collection
1. Begin a new page in your lab note book for the experiment and write the date in the upper right
hand corner.
2. Make a sketch that defines the lengths and angles you will measure. NOTE: the angles on the
protractor do not necessarily agree with the definition shown in Figure 2, so you must account
for this in your final report.
3. Measure or otherwise ascertain the height h, the length of string, d, and the length of the arm of
the protractor, l.
4. For each bulb you measure, record the manufacturer’s data (lumens, color, rendering, etc) in
your notebook.
5. Insert a bulb type to be tested and turn on the lamp. Record the power reading from the Kill-o-
Watt meter.
6. Next, begin with the meter directly in front of the lamp, at the same elevation, oriented normal
to the bulb. Set the lux meter to X10 range. Label two columns, one  [degrees] the other
Reading [Lux] in your lab notebook and record the data. Record the actual angle read by the

2
Experimental Measurement of Illumination – Part 1
Freshman Clinic

protractor. NOTE: adjust the orientation of the meter slightly to ensure it is normal to the bulb,
which should maximize your reading.
7. Keeping the same elevation, h, shift the meter by +10 degrees, keeping it normal to the bulb.
Record the new values. Repeat until you reach +90 degrees.
8. Return to the zero degree location and proceed with measurements in increments of -10
degrees until you reach -90 degrees.
9. Recheck the Kill-o-Watt meter and record power reading. NOTE: the fluorescent bulb, in
particular, will change as it warms up.
10. Obtain a new type of bulb and repeat steps 4-10 until you have tested all bulb types.

Initial Deliverable

Write a 2-3 page report that discusses your laboratory procedure and observations. Assume the
audience is familiar with the laboratory experiment. Therefore, you may be brief except where noted.
The report should have the following sections:

(1) Test setup and procedure: This section should outline the procedures and only go into detail
where your procedure deviated from that given in the handout. For example, “following the given
instructions, data was collected at 10 degree intervals across the centerline of the front face of the
lamp” is all you would need for a statement on data collection. Also, provide your own sketch of
the experimental setup to augment your text.
(2) Results: Place your data in a table in the document, one column per bulb one row per angular
location. Normally, raw data would be placed in an appendix but we will relax this rule here. If
you are familiar with Excel, graph your data in lieu of the table data for all bulbs on a single chart.
(3) Calculations:
a. For each bulb, average the illuminance reading at all locations and report this value.
b. Using the value in 3a and the surface area of a hemisphere, estimate the total lumens emitted
by the each bulb (we will perform a more rigorous numerical integration of this value next
week).
c. Using the value in 3b and an average wavelength of 555nm, estimate the total power emitted
by each bulb type.
d. Using the value in 4c and the readings from the Kill-o-Watt meter estimate the efficacy of each
light bulb.
(4) Discussion: In this section you should discuss key topics.
a. Are trends apparent in your data which are more apt to be issues with bulb shape or
geometry? For example, are the data symmetric? Are there any interesting behaviors near
the edges of the lamp? Etc.
b. Using your calculated results how does each bulb type compare in terms of the average
illuminance, total lumens, and efficacy?
c. How do the calculated values compare to the values stated on the product packing (if
available)?
(5) Conclusions: In this section you should make fact-based statements that describe trends observed
across bulbs or compare bulb types. For example, “The LED bulb, having an efficacy of x, were the

3
Experimental Measurement of Illumination – Part 1
Freshman Clinic

most efficient while the incandescent bulb, with efficacy y, was the least”, or “the illluminance was
maximized in all bulb types (see Table 1) at an angle of z.”

Illuminance Level Intuition

Table 1 describes some typical illuminance levels for various conditions. Keep in mind that illuminance
will decrease as you move away from a lamp.

Table 1. Typical illuminance levels (adapted from Russell)

Illuminance Level
Space
Foot-candle Lux
Full moon 0.1 1
Exterior parking lot 1.0 10
Dim restaurant 5.0 50
Living Room 10-15 100-150
Residential den 20-35 200-350
Classroom or office 50-70 500-700
Laboratory or exam room 100 1000

Formatting Notes

We will have additional discussion about formatting in upcoming classes. For now, please follow these
guidelines:

Font: use 11 point Calibri font.

Headings: use 14 point Calibri, bold for first level headings, 11 point Calibri, bold for second level
headings, and 11 point Calibri, underlined for third level headings.

Equations: use equation editor to include equations in your report.

Tables: insert proper tables into your document. Each table has a number and short title listed above
the table. Tables are numbered in the order they are called out in the text.

Figures: Figures and graphs are collectively labeled as Figures. Each figure has a number and caption
below the figure. Figures are numbered in the order they are called out in the text. Figures should not
be boxed.