Opaque

Opaque is a term used in various fields, including physics, optics, and medicine, to describe a material or substance that does not allow light to pass through. The term is derived from the Latin word 'opacus', which means 'darkened' or 'shaded'.

Physics and Optics

In the field of physics and optics, an opaque object is one that does not allow light to pass through it. This is in contrast to transparent materials, which allow light to pass through without significant scattering or absorption, and translucent materials, which allow some light to pass through but scatter the rest. The opacity of a material is determined by its absorption coefficient, which measures how much light is absorbed per unit length.

Medicine

In medicine, the term opaque is often used to describe substances or tissues that do not allow X-rays or other forms of radiation to pass through. For example, bones are often described as opaque to X-rays, while soft tissues are more transparent. This property is used in medical imaging techniques such as X-ray imaging and computed tomography (CT) scans to visualize the internal structures of the body.

See Also

• Transparency and translucency
• Absorption (optics)
• X-ray imaging
• Computed tomography

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