|
 Emissivity in the Infrared
What is Emissivity
All objects and
materials do not radiate infrared (thermal) energy equally. Emissivity is a term
describing the efficiency with which a material radiates infrared energy. A
blackbody has an emissivity of 1.00 and no other material can radiate
more thermal energy at a given temperature. An object with an emissivity
of 0 emits no infrared energy. Real-world objects have emissivity
values between 0 and 1.00. The lower emissivity of most real-world
materials reduces the intensity of radiation from the theoretical
predictions of Planck’s Law.
The
temperature of an object and its emissivity define how much infrared energy
an object will emit. The figure below shows that quartz emits less
energy than a blackbody at the same temperature and therefore has an
emissivity below 1.00.
|
support@optotherm.com