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Absorption efficiency of a particle, customarily denoted by Qa [non-dimensional], is defined by the following equation:
| Qa = Ca / G | (1) |
where Ca [length2] is the absorption cross section of the particle, and G [length2] is the area of a geometrical cross section of the particle in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the incident light (i.e. the geometric particle shadow).
The absorption efficiency may assume values greater than unity, i.e. a particle may absorb from the incident beam more light power that falls on its geometrical cross section (for example, Bohren and Huffman 1983). Note that this conflicts with the traditionally accepted meaning of the term efficiency, implying that its maximum value is unity.
| CITATION: Jonasz M. 2006. Absorption efficiency (www.tpdsci.com/Tpc/AbsEf.php). In: Top. Part. Disp. Sci. (www.tpdsci.com). |
HISTORY: Published: 12-Jan-2006 Modified: 12-Jan-2006 Peer-reviewed: 19-Feb-2007 |
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