Patent ID: 8304730

Claim:
A method for measuring spectral characteristics of materials comprising: providing a sample material and a heater that both include a spectrally flat, highly emissive surface portion; in one or both of an emissive configuration, in which the sample material is in thermal contact with the heater, and a transmissive configuration, in which the sample material is separated from the heater, capturing spectral-spatial data that includes radiance measurements over the spectrally flat, highly emissive surface portions, the spectral-spatial data being captured at least two different heater temperatures for each of the configurations; determining temperatures of the sample material and heater at the different heater temperatures for each of the configurations using, in each instance, the radiance measurements taken over the sample material and the heater after the temperatures of both the heater and the sample material have stabilized; if the temperatures were determined for the transmissive configuration, determining the transmissivity of the sample material using the temperatures of the sample material and heater in the transmissive configuration and the spectral-spatial data collected at selected points of interest over the sample material; and determining the emissivity of the sample material using the temperatures of the sample material and heater in the emissive configuration, the spectral-spatial data collected at selected points of interest over the sample material, and the transmissivity of the sample material.