THEORY OF

EMISSIVITY

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 Theory of Emissivity
The necessity to take infrared temperature measurements at the correct emissivity setting cannot be
over-emphasized. Each material possesses unique characteristics, particularly their ability to absorb,
transmit or reflect infrared energy. These characteristics need to be considered in a discussion on
Emissivity.

“Emissivity” is defined as the radiation efficiency of a real-world surface as compared to a “black-

body” radiator. A “blackbody” is a hypothetical object that absorbs all radiation that falls on it. The
colour of an object is a result of the radiation (light) they reflect. When a spectrum of radiation (e.g.
sunlight) hits an object, part of the spectrum is absorbed, and part reflected. The part of the reflected
spectrum visible to the human eye is colour. A body that absorbs all radiation reflects no light, and
hence appears black. Kirchoff’s Law, the most fundamental principal of infrared thermometry, states
that for an object at thermal equilibrium in a vacuum, the power radiated (e) must be equal to the
power absorbed (a). This is expressed as:

The value of e expresses the emissive efficiency of the object and is referred to as emissivity. This
general law applies to any wavelength.

For example, an object (O) within a vacuum chamber with walls of a uniform temperature (To), will
be at thermal equilibrium when O is the same temperature as To. At thermal equilibrium, the radia-
tion emitted by the walls that is absorbed by O must equal the radiation emitted by O (See Figure 5
below).

Figure 5
Referring back to Kirchoff’s Law where a = e, the hypothetical “blackbody” that is a perfect absorber
of radiation must also be the most efficient radiator as is possible. An example of a target that radiates
absorbed energy as efficient as possible is shown in Figure 6 below:

Figure 6

The radiation characteristics of an ideal blackbody radiator is shown in Figure 7. The curve of Figure
7 indicates that for a blackbody at 1200°F a one micron wide spectrum centred at 3 microns in wave-
length (i.e. 2.5 – 3.5 microns) radiates 0.8 watts per square centimetre.

Figure 7

In the real world, objects are neither perfect absorbers or radiators of energy. Real-world objects are
referred to as “greybodies”, due to their imperfect absorption of radiation (i.e. they will reflect light).
A greybody surface at the same temperature as a blackbody surface will radiate less energy due to
internal reflection at the surface. A greybody with a surface emissivity, e, will have exactly the same
family of curves as Figure 7, except that the net radiant emittance will be a factor of the greybody’s
e value. For example, a greybody heated to 1200ºF with an e=0.5 will radiate 0.4 watts per square
centimeter for a one micron wide spectrum centred at 3 microns in wavelength (2.5 – 3.5 microns)
(i.e. 0.8 x 0.5 = 0.4 watts/cm-2). Hence, the output of an infrared detector that has been calibrated to a
blackbody source will only put out “e” times as much voltage when looking at the greybody.

If a voltage amplifier with a gain of 1/e is applied to the detector output voltage, the voltage at the
amplifier output will be equal to the detector voltage when looking at a blackbody calibration source at
the same temperature.
 Determination of Emissivity
Introduction
Most organic and non-metallic materials whose surfaces appear to be rough and highly absorbent have an
emissivity of around 0.98. In other words, a nearly perfect emittance characteristic. The high emissivity
creates few complications for infrared temperature measurements. When the emissivity is significantly less
than 1.0, the user must know how to to compensate for the less efficient emission characteristics. The typi-
cal emissivities of known materials are presented in the Emissivity of Total Radiation for Various Metals
Table.

Emissivity Measurement
The emissivity of a surface may be measured by comparison of the infrared thermometer reading with a
standard contact thermometer on the same surface.

A miniature, thin-film platinum resistance sensor is preferred for the contact sensor because it has a planar
surface that makes better physical contact with the surface than a conventional probe. A conventional probe
may be used if modest error is acceptable. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for mounting any
sensor to the test surface. The contact sensor should be as small as possible and bare (unhoused), for best
results.

Once the contact sensor is intimately attached to the Surface Under Test (SUT) and measuring properly, el-
evate the temperature of the SUT and stabilize at a temperature near the upper end of the infrared thermom-
eter’s range for approximately one hour for thick sections and proportionately less for thin sections.

After stabilization, aim the infrared thermometer at a spot on the SUT as close as possible to the contact sen-
sor. If your instrument has Visual Light Sighting, refocus the instrument until a ring configuration appears
on the light spot. Position the contact sensor in the dead centre section of the ring. Change the emissivity
up or down until the infrared thermometer display reads the same as the contact thermometer following the
instructions in the Operating Instructions portion of this Manual. The resulting emissivity reading is then
equal to the emissivity of the SUT at that temperature and under those conditions. Record this reading for
future reference.

Another simple method of determining emissivity values of greybody surfaces up to approximately 400°C
is to mask off a portion of the base surface with masking tape or scotch tape and pass the area adjoining the
tape edge through a candle flame or “smoky” torch to deposit hydrocarbon soot on the area to effect a com-
plete coverage. This soot has a high, well defined emissivity of 0.955 ± 0.01, has better thermal conductivity
and a thinner section than paint so does not affect the thermal balance of the substrate. If the tape is now
pulled off of the target, a sharp line will divide the soot-covered area from the bare area to be evaluated.

Heat the object to an appropriate temperature then measure the temperature of the soot area just adjacent to
the bare material line using an instrument with Light sighting and an emissivity setting of 0.95,. Next, move
the instrument over to where the light is just on the bare surface adjacent to the boundary and adjust the
emissivity control to produce the same temperature reading that you got on the soot-covered area. Record
the value of this emissivity for future reference.