Basic radiance ($L/n^2$)

Basic radiance is radiance divided by the square of the refractive index. For radiance $L$ at a fixed wavelength,Lossless propagation conserves reduced radiance along each light ray; $L$ itself is conserved only when the endpoint refractive indices agree. A larger irradiance at a smaller image can result from admitting more directions without increasing reduced radiance. Uniform wave absorption can lower radiant flux while leaving the occupied geometric etendue unchanged; an opaque aperture removes part of that occupied set. ^[ref]