Color rendering index: Difference between revisions

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'''Colour rendering index''', or '''CRI''', is a measure of the quality of [[colour]] [[light]], devised by the [[International Commission on Illumination]] (CIE). It generally ranges from zero for a source like a low-pressure [[sodium vapor lamp]], which is monochromatic, to one hundred, for a source like an [[incandescent light bulb]], which emits essentially [[blackbody radiation]]. It is related to [[colour temperature]], in that the CRI measures for a pair of light sources can only be compared if they have the same colour temperature. A standard "cool white" [[fluorescent lamp]] will have a CRI near 62. Newer "triphosphor" fluorescents often claim a CRI of 80 to 85 (although this author subjectively is not so impressed!).

CRI is a quantitatively measurable index, not a subjective one. A reference source, such as blackbody radiation, is defined as having a CRI of 100 (this is why incandescent lamps have that rating, as they are, in effect, blackbody radiators), and the test source with the same colour temperature is compared against this. For colour-temperatures of 5000K and above, the reference source is a simulated daylight (eg D65) rather than a true blackbody. Both sources are used to illuminate several standard samples. The perceived colours under the reference and test illumination (measured in CIE 1931 form) are compared using a standard formula, and averaged over the number of samples taken (usually eight) to get the final CRI. Because eight samples are usually used, manufacturers use the prefix "octo-" on their high-CRI lamps.