lux, unit of illumination (see luminous intensity) in the International System of Units (SI). One lux (Latin for “light”) is the amount of illumination provided when one lumen is evenly distributed over an area of one square metre. This is also equivalent to the illumination that would exist on a surface all points of which are one metre from a point source of one international candle (candela). One lux is equal to 0.0929 foot-candle.