Chemegate

GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering, Q13 · Heat Transfer

The correct answer is A, absorptivity of the body at the same wavelength.

Question

A body is placed inside a perfectly black enclosure and is allowed to reach thermal equilibrium. According to the Kirchhoff's identity, which one of the following is equal to the emissivity of the body at a given wavelength?

  • A. absorptivity of the body at the same wavelength
  • B. reflectivity of the body at the same wavelength
  • C. Stefan-Boltzmann constant
  • D. zero

Official answer: absorptivity of the body at the same wavelength

Why

GATE 2026 official key: (A). Kirchhoff's law: at thermal equilibrium, a body's emissivity equals its absorptivity at the same wavelength.

Explanation cross-checked for consistency. Final answer matches the official IIT answer key.