logo
AAT Bioquest

What is the absorption coefficient?

Posted December 1, 2020


Answer

The absorption coefficient or attenuation coefficient, describes how readily a beam of light can pass through a volume of material. It can be calculated using the following formula:

  • α= absorption coefficient
  • f= frequency of the monochromatic light
  • k= extinction coefficient
  • c= the speed of light
  • π= constant pi (~3.14)
Additional resources

Protocol to determine accurate absorption coefficients for iron-containing transferrins

Extinction Coefficient

Absorption Spectrum Viewer