 Spatially averaged radiant exposure

Spatially averaged radiant exposure is the received radiant energy divided by the specified receiving area. For a patch $A$ and local radiant exposure $H(\mathbf{x})$,Both local and averaged values have units $\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$, but the average need not equal the local maximum. The radiant exposure definition uses incident energy and the receiving surface's area.^[ref]

For an original unequal-area example, let one $3\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{m}}^2$ region receive a uniform $2\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$, and a neighbouring $1\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{m}}^2$ region receive $10\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$. They receive $6$ and $10\mu \mathrm{J}$ respectively. The average over the combined patch is thereforeThe unweighted average of the two listed exposure values would be $6\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$, which is wrong for these unequal areas. The area weighting of radiant exposure gives the larger region three times the influence. The actual peak remains $10\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$ in the stipulated piecewise-uniform model.

A receiver integrating all incident energy over the complete patch can determine $Q_A$; division by its known collecting area then gives the average. That measurement alone cannot identify the peak or reconstruct the spatial distribution. Subdivision with a characterized spatial response supplies additional information. For a finite aperture intercepting a Gaussian beam, use energy actually entering the aperture, as calculated in radiant exposure of a Gaussian beam, rather than the total energy of the untruncated beam.