Working With Optical Density

Optical Density (OD) is a crucial concept for understanding the transmission of light through highly blocking optical filters. Defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the transmission, OD simplifies the description of light transmission, especially when dealing with extremely small values.

This article explores the relationship between OD and transmission, demonstrating how OD values offer a concise way to represent variations in transmission over six orders of magnitude. Additionally, we provide practical tips and rules for converting between OD and transmission, making it easier to apply these concepts in various optical applications.