Optical Density Calculator

Calculate Optical Density



Formula

The formula to calculate the optical density (OD) is:

\[ OD = \log_{10} \left( \frac{I_0}{I} \right) \]

Where:

What is Optical Density?

Optical density is defined as the total optical attenuation per centimeter of material. Optical attenuation is the loss or amount of optical light that material retains as it travels over or through a medium.

Example Calculation

Consider an example where:

Using the formula to calculate the optical density:

\[ OD = \log_{10} \left( \frac{1000}{100} \right) = \log_{10} (10) = 1 \]

This means that the optical density for this example is 1.