Actinometers are instruments used to measure the heating power of radiation. They are mainly used in meteorology to measure solar radiation. // Mechanical power In physics, power (symbol: P) is the amount of work W done per unit of time t. ... Electromagnetic radiation can be conceptualized as a self propagating transverse oscillating wave of electric and magnetic fields. ... Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo with a polar low visible at the top of the image. ... Solar irradiance spectrum at top of atmosphere. ...
A chemical system or physical device which determines the number of photons in a beam integrally or per unit time. This name is commonly applied to devices used in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength ranges. For example, solutions of iron(III) oxalate can be used as a chemical actinometer, while bolometers, thermopiles, and photodiodes are physical devices giving a reading that can be correlated to the number of photons detected
Actinometers are used chiefly in meteorology to measure solar radiation as transmitted directly by the sun, scattered by the atmosphere, or reflected by the earth.
Recent actinometers use the photoelectric effect but earlier instruments depended either on the fluorescence produced by the radiation on...
For example, Tyrian purple was used as a sunlight actinometer (measures the intensity of the sun's rays) ca 300BC.
This item is probably an antique, and features a cork-wood case that holds a heavy glass insert, and within the case is a glass instrument called an Actinometer, (it has this written on it).
The end of this actinometer has a bulbous shape to it.
According to my web research, these were patented in 1825 and were used to measure the heating and chemical effects of sunlight and infrared radiation.
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