Abstract
The spectral radiant energy of a magnesium–sodium nitrate pyrotechnic flare is compared with theoretical spectra computed using radiative-transfer theory. The radiant energy over the range 3800–7400 Å is 1.0×107 J, which is about 15% of the total energy of the flare reaction and about 25% of the energy available for radiation. The measured luminous efficacy is 37 lm/W. The experimental spectrum is shown to be consistent with a theoretical model in which the flare flame is a system of thermally excited sodium atoms from which the radiant exitance is radically influenced by radiative-transfer effects.
© 1970 Optical Society of America
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