The term "pixel" is used inconsistently when describing digital image size. It sometimes represents a unit of linear length (e.g., image width/height) and other times a unit of area (e.g., total sensor resolution in megapixels).
Mathematically, treating "pixel" as a linear unit means multiplying width (in pixels) by height (in pixels) should result in an area measured in square pixels (pixel²), similar to how meters yield square meters.
However, colloquial usage often treats the result of this multiplication as being in "pixels" (e.g., a 10 pixel x 10 pixel area is called 100 pixels). Following this logic mathematically implies that pixel² equals pixel, which simplifies to pixel = 1, suggesting the pixel is a dimensionless unit like radians, contradicting its use as a length measure. This highlights a conflict between formal dimensional analysis and practical terminology.
The term "pixel" is used inconsistently when describing digital image size. It sometimes represents a unit of linear length (e.g., image width/height) and other times a unit of area (e.g., total sensor resolution in megapixels).
Mathematically, treating "pixel" as a linear unit means multiplying width (in pixels) by height (in pixels) should result in an area measured in square pixels (pixel²), similar to how meters yield square meters.
However, colloquial usage often treats the result of this multiplication as being in "pixels" (e.g., a 10 pixel x 10 pixel area is called 100 pixels). Following this logic mathematically implies that pixel² equals pixel, which simplifies to pixel = 1, suggesting the pixel is a dimensionless unit like radians, contradicting its use as a length measure. This highlights a conflict between formal dimensional analysis and practical terminology.