Characterizing Opacity of Translucent Ceramic Materials

A method for characterizing the opacity of translucent ceramic materials was developed based on the Kubelka‐Munk theory of scattering. From a single reflectivity measurement, the scattering coefficient S , which determines the optical quality of the material, was determined for materials with low absorption. From the scattering coefficient, the reflectivity or transmittance for a particular thickness was calculated. When there was appreciable absorption in the sample, it was necessary to make three reflectivity measurements and to use the general Kubelka‐Munk equations in order to obtain accurate values of S , reflectivity, and transmittance.