Actinometers are instruments used to measure the heating power of radiation. They are used in meteorology to measure solar radiation as pyranometers, pyrheliometers and net radiometers. An actinometer is 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. History The actinometer was invented by John Herschel in 1825; he introduced the term actinometer, the first of many uses of the prefix actin for scientific instruments, effects, and processes.The actinograph is a related device for estimating the actinic power of lighting for photography. Chemical actinometry Chemical actinometry involves measuring radiant flux via the yield from a chemical reaction. This process requires...