absorbance

or ab·sorb·an·cy

[ ab-sawr-buh ns or ab-sawr-buh n-see; -zawr- ]
/ æbˈsɔr bəns or æbˈsɔr bən si; -ˈzɔr- /

noun Physics.

the capacity of a substance to absorb radiation, expressed as the common logarithm of the reciprocal of the transmittance of the substance.

Origin of absorbance

First recorded in 1945–50; absorb(ent) + -ance

Words nearby absorbance

absolve, absonant, absorb, absorbable gelatin film, absorbable suture, absorbance, absorbed, absorbed dose, absorbefacient, absorbent, absorbent cotton

British Dictionary definitions for absorbance

absorbance
/ (əbˈsɔːbəns, -ˈzɔː-) /

noun

physics a measure of the light-absorbing ability of an object, expressed as the logarithm to base 10 of the reciprocal of the internal transmittance See transmittance

Medical definitions for absorbance

absorbance
[ əb-zôr′bəns ]

n.

In spectrophotometry, equal to 2 minus the log of the percentage transmittance of light. extinction optical density