absorption coefficient
Noun: A measure of how strongly a material absorbs electromagnetic radiation (such as light) as the radiation passes through it. It quantifies the rate at which the intensity of the radiation decreases. Specifically, it is the fraction of the incoming radiant energy that is absorbed per unit of the material's mass or thickness.
The term is used in physics, optics, engineering, and environmental science to describe and calculate the attenuation of energy in a medium. * The absorption coefficient of the glass determines how much heat from sunlight enters the building. * Scientists measured a high absorption coefficient for the new polymer at specific infrared wavelengths. * Calculating the absorption coefficient is essential for designing effective optical filters.
- Bouguer-Lambert Law (Beer-Lambert Law): The absorption coefficient (often denoted by the Greek letter alpha, α) is a key parameter in this fundamental law of optics, which describes the attenuation of light through a material. The law states that intensity decreases exponentially with distance, and the absorption coefficient is the constant in that exponent.
- According to the Beer-Lambert law, the transmitted light intensity depends on the path length and the absorption coefficient of the solution.
- Absorptance (n): The ratio of the absorbed radiant flux to the incident radiant flux. It is a related dimensionless measure. Per the reference context: absorptance equals 1 minus transmittance.
- Attenuation Coefficient (n): A broader term that includes both absorption and scattering of radiation as causes of intensity loss.
- Molar Absorption Coefficient (n): A specific type of absorption coefficient used in chemistry, defined for a substance per mole per liter and per centimeter path length.
- Attenuation coefficient (in contexts where absorption is the primary cause of attenuation)
- Extinction coefficient (often used interchangeably in some fields, though it may also include scattering)
- Optical Density: A logarithmic measure of the attenuation (absorption + scattering) of light, directly related to the absorption coefficient.
- Transmittance: The fraction of incident radiation that passes through a material. It is inversely related to absorption.
- a measure of the rate of decrease in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (as light) as it passes through a given substance; the fraction of incident radiant energy absorbed per unit mass or thickness of an absorber
- absorptance equals 1 minus transmittance