Absorbance Calculator

Convert between absorbance, transmittance, and light intensity

Calculation Mode

Key Equations

A = -log₁₀(T)

T = I / I₀

%T = T × 100

A = -log₁₀(I/I₀)

Absorbance

0.5000

Transmittance

31.62%

All Values

Absorbance (A)0.5000
Optical Density (OD)0.5000
Transmittance (%T)31.6228%
I/I₀ Ratio0.3162
Light Absorbed68.38%

Visual Representation

Incident
100%
Absorbed
68.4%
Transmitted
31.6%

About Absorbance

Absorbance (A) is a measure of how much light is absorbed by a sample. It is related to transmittance by:

A = -log₁₀(T) = -log₁₀(I/I₀)

Key points:

  • Absorbance is unitless (sometimes called AU - absorbance units)
  • Optical density (OD) is equivalent to absorbance
  • Linear range is typically A = 0.1 to 1.0
  • Higher absorbance means more light absorbed