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Blackbody


Emissivity
Emissivity

At any given temperature, real materials emit less energy than that of a black body. The effectiveness of a material at emitting energy is represented by a radiative property called the emissivity factor, which is the ratio of the actual energy emission of the material to that of a blackbody at the same temperature. This article will provide an overview of emissivity and its many formulations.


Blackbody Radiation
Blackbody Radiation

A blackbody is an idealized volume which emits and absorbs the maximum possible amount of radiation at a given temperature in all directions over a wide range of wavelengths. Blackbodies are perfect emitters and absorbers of radiation and therefore useful as a standard when studying radiative heat transfer systems where the amount of radiation emitted and absorbed is a also a function of material properties. This article describes the basics of a black body and presents equations to describe its emissive characteristics.