Two Blackbody Radiometers of High Accuracy

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Abstract
Two cavity-type radiometers have been developed, based on first principles, having the capability of measuring an irradiance with an indicated error 0.3%. The prerequisites for this accuracy are a measured aperture area, a measurement of electric voltages, and an effective absorptance of its blackbody cavity from 0.998 to 0.999 throughout the uv, visible, and ir spectral ranges. The first cavity-type radiometer is designed to operate only in a vacuum of −5 Torr and to measure intensities from 10 mW cm−1 to 300 mW cm−2. By using this radiometer in an evacuated cold chamber, an experimental determination of the Stefan-Boltzmann constant is obtained at a value that differs from the theoretical value by 0.3%, which indicates the degree of confidence that can be expected in measurements made with blackbody cavity radiometers. The second type of radiometer is designed to operate in either air or vacuum. Although its aperture opening is windowless, it is unaffected by wind. The range of intensities accurately measurable is from about 10 mW cm−2 to 800 mW cm−2; the indicated accuracy is also 0.3%.

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