Silver is metal with highest electrical conductivity.I read that it have highest optical reflectivity,that it shines most from all metals.
Is there link between conductivity and how shiny the metal appears?
Please assume clean surface,no surface oxidation.
Best Answer
Materials with high index of refraction have higher reflectivity than materials with lower reflectivity.Because index of refraction varies with the wavelength of photons and so does reflectivity.
Also the metallic reflectance can be related to the conductivity by the Hagens-Ruben equation where ν is the light frequency, ε0 is the vacuum permitivity (8.85 x 10-12 F/m), and σ is the conductivity. In the infrared region (small frequencies), this equation shows that metals with high reflectance also are good conductors.
$R$=$1$-$4 \sqrt{\frac{\nu \pi \epsilon_0} {\sigma}} $