absorbance
Noun
Meaning
(physics) a measure of the extent to which a substance transmits light or other electromagnetic radiation
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Phrases with the word
Examples
A basic IR spectrum is essentially a graph of infrared light absorbance (or transmittance ) on the vertical axis vs. frequency or wavelength on the horizontal axis.
Alternatively, the entire wavelength range is measured using a Fourier transform instrument and then a transmittance or absorbance spectrum is generated using a dedicated procedure.
After proper mixing of the sample and the reagent, the mixture is incubated for 10 minutes at ambient temperature and the absorbance of the solution is read at 440 nm.
However, additives may occur together and the absorbance by one could interfere with the absorbance of another.
In both cases the measured quantity is assumed to be proportional to the sum of contributions from each photo-active species; with absorbance measurements the Beer-Lambert law is assumed to apply.
Lambert's law stated that absorbance of a material sample is directly proportional to its thickness (path length).