Light reflection

A quite different means for the experimental determination of surface excess quantities is ellipsometry. The technique is discussed in Section IV-3D, and it is sufficient to note here that the method allows the calculation of the thickness of an adsorbed film from the ellipticity produced in light reflected from the film covered surface. If this thickness, t, is known, F may be calculated from the relationship F = t/V, where V is the molecular volume. This last may be estimated either from molecular models or from the bulk liquid density. 

Interferometry is based on the fact that light reflected from the front and back interfaces of a film travels different distances, producing interference effects. The method has been applied to Langmuir-Blodgett films (Section XV-7) and to soap films (Section XrV-8) [147-149]. 

Figure Bl.18.12. Illustration that only light reflected from object points in the focal plane contributes to the image. If the light is reflected from areas below the focal plane, only a small fraction can pass through the pinliole so that light from those areas does not contribute to the image. The pinliole in front of the detector is exaggerated in size for the sake of presentation.

Refra.ctive Index. The relative amount of light reflected by a surface is dependent on both components of the iaterface, ie, filler and air. The refractive iadex is a measure of a substance s tendency to reflect light according to Fresnel s equation ... 

For higher accuracy, a method involving ampHtude modulation of a continuous laser beam is used. Again, a detector receives light reflected from the object where the distance is to be measured. The phases of the modulation in the outgoing beam and in the reflected return are compared. For a total phase shift A( ) between the two signals, the range R is... 

InstmmentaHy, both the hiding power and tinting strength can be determined from the amount of the incident light reflectance of coated white and black substrates. Relationships derived from Kubelka and Munk theory (6) are appHed in actual calculations. 

Natural Imag CS. Natural images typically originate as photographs and are invariably represented in some type of bit-mapped form. They are similar to synthetically created bit-mapped images except they are defined by a scanner that samples the light reflected from a photographic print. 

Although the pure metal has a silvery-white color, in the cast condition it may have a yellowish tinge caused by a thin film of protective oxide on the surface. When highly poHshed, it has high light reflectivity. It retains its brightness well during exposure, both outdoors and indoors. 

Vitrinite Reflectance. The amount of light reflected from a poHshed plane surface of a coal particle under specified illumination conditions increases with the aromaticity of the sample and the rank of the coal or maceral. Precise measurements of reflectance, usually expressed as a percentage, ate used as an indication of coal rank. 

Grayness of a fabric swatch is not directly proportional to its content of black pigment (or artificial sod). A basic formula relating reflectance to the pigment content or concentration can be appHed to the evaluation of detergency test swatches (51,99—101). In simple form, an adaptation of the Kubelka-Munk equation, it states that the quantity (1 — i ) /2R (where R is the fraction of light reflected from the sample) is a linear function of the sod content of the sample. 

Difference in optical properties can be used as the basis to separate solids in a mixture. Optic properties include color, light reflectance, opacity, and fluorescence excited by ultraviolet rays or x-rays. Differences in elec trical conductance can also be used for separation. With appropriate sensing, the particles in a moving stream can be sorted by using an air jet or other means to deflect certain particles away from the mainstream (Fig. 19-10). The lower limit of particle size is about... 

The advent of lasers allowed optical interferometry to become a useful and accurate technique to determine surface motion in shocked materials. The two most commonly used interferometric systems are the VISAR (Barker and Hollenbach, 1972) and the Fabry-Perot velocity interferometer (Johnson and Burgess, 1968 Durand et al., 1977). Both systems produce interference fringe shifts which are proportional to the Doppler shift of the laser light reflected from the moving specimen surface. Both can accommodate a speci-... 

The original Ringelmann chart was a reflectance chart the observer viewed light reflected from the chart. More recently, light transmittance charts have been developed for both black (1) and white (2) gradations of optical density which correlate with the Ringelmarm chart scale. It is now common practice in the United States to send air pollution inspectors to a "smoke school" where they are trained and certified as being able to read the density of black and white plumes with an accuracy that is acceptable for court testimony. 

Optical interferometry can be used to measure surface features without contact. Light reflected from the surface of interest interferes with light from an optically flat reference surface. Deviations in the fnnge pattern produced by the interference are related to differences in surface height. The interferometer can be moved to quantify the deviations. Lateral resolution is determined by the resolution of the magnification optics. If an imaging array is used, three-dimensional (3D) information can be provided. 

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