Sailing Glossary - Term White body

A hypothetical \body\"" whose surface absorbs no electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength. An idealization exactly opposite to that of the black body. In nature, no true white bodies are known. Most white pigments exhibiting high reflectivity for visible radiation are fairly good absorbers in the infrared range, hence they are not white bodies in the sense of radiation theory. However, one does speak of a white body with respect to a particular wavelength interval. Compare to black body, gray body. ""