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2.1: Absorptance, and the Definition of a Black Body

  • Page ID
    6651
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    If a body is irradiated with radiation of wavelength \(\lambda\), and a fraction \(a(\lambda)\) of that radiation is absorbed, the remainder being either reflected or transmitted, \(a(\lambda)\) is called the absorptance at wavelength \(\lambda\). Note that \(\lambda\) is written in parentheses, to mean "at wavelength \(\lambda\)", not as a subscript, which would mean "per unit wavelength interval". The fractions of the radiation reflected and transmitted are, respectively, the reflectance and the transmittance. The sum of the absorptance, reflectance and transmittance is unity, unless you can think of anything else that might happen to the radiation.

    A body for which \(a(\lambda) = 1\) for all wavelengths is a black body.

    A body for which a has the same value for all wavelengths, but less than unity, is a grey body.

    (Caution: We may meet the word "absorbance" later. It is not the same as absorptance.)


    This page titled 2.1: Absorptance, and the Definition of a Black Body is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeremy Tatum via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.