Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 315 4 c Solution 2026-09-28
In vacuum, a narrow ray bundle conserves both power and geometrical etendue . Their ratio, the specific intensity, is therefore independent of source-receiver distance. Equivalently, geometric dilution reduces received power and apparent solid angle by the same inverse-square factor.
For an isotropically emitting isothermal blackbody atmosphere, the outward surface flux iswhere the last equality is bolometric. Multiplication by the emitting area gives the luminosity of a spherical blackbody