Optical Properties

11.05.2011
 Optical properties
• Refractive index
• Haze
• Opacity
• Gloss
 Refractive index
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in another
substance is defined as the index of refraction

Speed of light in vacuum

Re fractive index 
Speed of light in Medium

Angle of Re fraction
Snell’s law  refractive index 
Angle of incidence
 Abbe Refractometer
• In the Abbe' refractometer the sample is sandwiched
into a thin layer between an illuminating prism and a
refracting prism
ASTM D452-00(2006): Standard
test method for index of
refraction of transparent organic
plastics
 Luminous Transmittance and Haze
Intensity of transmitted light
Transmit tan ce 
Intensity of Incident light

Haze = percentage of light that deviates by more than 2.5° from the
incident beam (Cloudiness of product caused by scattering of light)

Diffuse transmit tan ce

Haze 
Total transmit tan ce
Test method:
ASTM D 1003 – 07: Haze and Luminous transmittance of transparent plastics
ASTM D1746 – 09: Transparency of plastic sheets
ASTM D1494 – 97 (2008): Diffuse light transmission
 Td
Haze   100%
Tt
T 
T4  T3  2 
 T1 
Td 
T1
T2
Tt 
T1
 Specular Gloss
•Relative luminous reflectance factor of a
specimen at the specular direction
•It is a measure of light reflected by the
surface
Test method
ASTM D 532-08: Standard test method for
specular gloss
 Gloss meter
• A glossmeter measures specular reflection. The light intensity is registered over a small range
of the reflection angle. The intensity is dependent on the material and the angle of
illumination. In case of non-metals (coatings, plastics) the amount of reflected light increases
with the increase of the illumination angle. The remaining illuminated light penetrates the
material and is absorbed or diffusely scattered dependent on the color. Metals have a much
higher reflection and are less angle dependent than non-metals.
• A glossmeter gives the amount of reflected light from a sample, compared to that reflected
from a black glass calibration standard with a defined refractive index. The result is
independent of the amount of incident light. The gloss value of the reference standard is
defined to be 100 gloss units. Materials with a higher refractive index can have a measurement
value above 100 gloss units. For transparent materials, the gloss can be increased by multiple
reflections in the bulk of the material. Due to the high reflectivity of metals, values as high as
3500 gloss units can be obtained. For these applications it is common to use percent reflection
of incident light rather than gloss units.
• Glossmeters usage procedures, as well as their defined angles of measurement, are
internationally standardized to allow comparison of measurement values. Angle of
illumination is the most important criterion. To clearly differentiate between high gloss and
low gloss, several different measurement angles are used, with incident angles of 20, 60, and
85 degrees the most common. The 20 degree angle is normally used for high gloss surfaces,
the 60 degree angle for medium gloss surfaces, and the 85 degree angle for low gloss surfaces.
Other angles of measurement are used for specific applications, such as 75 degrees for plastic
film, and 45 degrees for vinyl siding
 Gloss meter
Sample

Light source
Detector
 Colour
• Colour: Sensation to eye – Produced by
reflection of particular wavelength of light.
Value or lightness: Ranges from dark to light
Black (Dark)  Grey (Middle)  White
(Light)
Hue: Basic differences in colours. Green differ
from blue, blue differ from red etc.
Chroma or Saturation:
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CIE