Reflectivity - Reflectance

Reflectance

Reflectivity and reflectance generally refer to the fraction of incident electromagnetic power that is reflected at an interface, while the term "reflection coefficient" is used for the fraction of electric field reflected. The reflectance or reflectivity is thus the square of the magnitude of the reflection coefficient. The reflection coefficient can be expressed as a complex number as determined by the Fresnel equations for a single layer, whereas the reflectance (or reflectivity) is always a positive real number.

According to the CIE (the International Commission on Illumination), reflectivity is distinguished from reflectance by the fact that reflectivity is a value that applies to thick reflecting objects. When reflection occurs from thin layers of material, internal reflection effects can cause the reflectance to vary with surface thickness. Reflectivity is the limit value of reflectance as the surface becomes thick; it is the intrinsic reflectance of the surface, hence irrespective of other parameters such as the reflectance of the rear surface. Another way to interpret this is that the reflectance is the fraction of electromagnetic power reflected from a specific sample, while reflectivity is a property of the material itself, which would be measured on a perfect machine if the material filled half of all space.

The reflectance spectrum or spectral reflectance curve is the plot of the reflectance as a function of wavelength.