Title: self-absorption
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - self-absorption
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.S05578
Status: current

Definition
Occurs in emission sources of finite thickness when radiant energy quanta emitted by atoms (or molecules) are absorbed by atoms of the same kind present in the same source. The absorbed energy is usually dissipated by collisional transfer of energy, or through emission of radiant energy of the same or other frequencies. In consequence, the observed radiant intensity of a spectral line (or band component) emitted by a source may be less than the radiant intensity would be from an optically thin source having the same number of emitting atoms. Self-absorption may occur in all emitting sources to some degree, whether they are homogeneous or not.

Related Terms
- radiant energy: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/R05039
- radiant intensity: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/R05045

Sources
- Orange Book, 2nd ed., p. 242 (https://media.iupac.org/publications/analytical_compendium/)
- PAC, 1994, 66, 2513. 'Nomenclature for radioanalytical chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 2525 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466122513)
- PAC, 1996, 68, 2223. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 2273 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668122223)

Related References
- PAC, 1982, 54, 1533. 'Glossary of terms used in nuclear analytical chemistry (Provisional)' on page 1552 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198254081533)
- PAC, 1985, 57, 1453. 'Nomenclature, symbols, units and their usage in spectrochemical analysis - V: Radiation sources (Recommendations 1985)' on page 1464 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198557101453)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S05578/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S05578/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S05578/xml

Citation: Citation: 'self-absorption' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.S05578
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Accessed: 2026-06-20T00:00:28+00:00