A unit of measurement for the brightness or intensity of light, based on the light produced by a standard candle.
Compound of 'candle' and 'power.' Before standardized electrical lighting units, scientists used candlepower as the baseline measurement for comparing light sources, with one candlepower defined as the light from a single standard candle.
Before the lumen and candela became standard, candlepower was literally how scientists measured light—so when engineers designed the first electric bulbs, they described them as '40-candlepower equivalents' to help people understand brightness!
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