See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/304037947

Kubelka, Paul

Chapter · January 2014

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_300-1

CITATIONS READS

0 1,245

2 authors:

Michael Brill Michal Vik

Datacolor, Inc. Technical University of Liberec
235 PUBLICATIONS   2,447 CITATIONS    91 PUBLICATIONS   246 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

The validity of CIE Whiteness and Tint equations View project

Kinetic behavior of Photochromic textile materials View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Michal Vik on 11 November 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

K
Kubelka, Paul
Michael H. Brill1 and Michal Vik2
1
Datacolor, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA
2
Faculty of textile engineering, Head of
Laboratory Color and Appearance Measurement,
Technical University of Liberec, Liberec, Czech
Republic
Paul Kubelka (1900–1956) was a Czechoslova-
kian chemical engineer whose many accomplish-
ments include a theory of light absorption and
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
R. Luo (ed.), Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_300-1
scattering by a layer of paint. That theory, origi-
nally published in 1931 with Franz Munk [1],
underlies much software that performs colorant-
recipe prediction (colorant formulation).
Whereas the 1931 theory assumed that light
flows in one dimension (two fluxes, upward and
downward within the layer), in 1948 Kubelka
derived the same equations (up to a factor of 2)
assuming spherical scatter within the paint layer
[2]. Later he generalized the theory to inhomoge-
neous layers [3].
The main contribution of these articles was a
closed-form function relating the reflectance R of
a layer to two constants characteristic of small
particles within the layer: the absorption coeffi-
cient K and the scattering coefficient S (both
assessed in a unit thickness of the layer). If the
layer is opaque, then the reflectance is a function
of K/S; otherwise R depends on K and
S separately, as well as on the reflectance of the
material behind the layer. The Kubelka-Munk
analysis also includes equations for total trans-
mittance of a translucent layer.
Although Kubelka and Munk independently
developed their analysis for paint layers, the
underlying theory originated with an astronomi-
cal motivation, starting with Arthur Schuster’s
1905 paper [4] relating to transmission of light
through clouds.
To render Kubelka-Munk analysis useful for
colorant formulation, one needed the additivity
principle described by Duncan in 1940 [5]. This
principle says that the total absorption coefficient
2 Kubelka, Paul
K of a layer is the concentration-weighted sum of
the K values of the components (K = c1 K1
+ c2 K2 + . . .) and similarly for S (S = c1 S1
+ c2 S2 + . . .).
Once the Kubelka-Munk theory, the additivity
principle, and computer technology had emerged,
colorant formulation was on its way. By 1958
Davidson and Hemmendinger introduced the
analog Colorant Mixture Computer (COMIC),
and this was quickly followed by dedicated
digital devices, which in turn yielded to software
packages that ran on general-purpose digital
computers.
The above discussion places Paul Kubelka’s
color-science contribution in historical context.
His life story offers an interesting context as well
(see his 1947 autobiography http://www.graphics.
cornell.edu/~westin/pubs/kubelka-autobio.html,
accessed 8 Jan 2014).
Kubelka was born in 1900 to Austrian parents
in Czechoslovakia. He was educated in the
German language and attended elementary
school in Kladno and secondary school in Brno
and Prague. In 1918 he served half a year in the
Austrian Army and began studies at the Technical
University in Prague. In 1922 he passed his final
examination as a chemical engineer. He then
served seven months in the Czechoslovakian
Army, where he soon commanded the military
analytical laboratory. He also worked with
L. Storch, professor of Physical Chemistry at
the Technical University.
After leaving military service, Kubelka
collaborated with Werner Mecklenburg, the
well-known colloid chemist, at Verein f€ ur
Chemische und Metallurgische Produktion, in
Aussig (SPOLCHEMIE, in Ústı́ n. L.), Czecho-
slovakia. During this period, he worked on
activated charcoal, resulting in patents and in
the gas mask charcoal “G 1000.” One theoretical
investigation of this period earned Kubelka a
Doctorate of Engineering in 1926.
During this time Kubelka married Margarethe
Schönhöfer and had two children.
In 1928 he led both the Inorganic and Analytic
laboratories in Ústı́ n. L. His laboratory investi-
gated (among other things) high temperature
reactions, the preparation of pigments, and
activated charcoal.
In 1931 Kubelka resolved to enter an aca-
demic career. Because of his publication on
absorption and capillary condensation, he was
nominated docent of the University of Prague.
There he investigated the absorption of vapors
by silica gel, which led to an exact method of
measurement of surface tension of crystals.
His work interested Fritz Haber, and he expected
to be nominated as professor at a German
University. [It was during this year that Kubelka
published the famous paper with Munk, but he
does not mention this in his autobiography.]
In 1933 the situation was changed by the Nazi
revolution in Germany. Kubelka refused to go to
Germany and had few choices in the rest of Cen-
tral Europe, so he returned to technological
contributions – soon founding the company
Kubelka Schuloff & Co., which eventually
changed to Dr. P. Kubelka & Co. The company
established a research laboratory and later a small
factory. Products such as the fungicide Cuprenox
were successful. References [6] and [7] are two
representative patents from that era. But World
War II disturbed this success and prevented the
realization of other inventions. Furthermore,
Kubelka was forced to change to German citizen-
ship and then was ostracized by the Nazis.
During the postwar events of 1945, Kubelka
and his wife were interned by mistake. His wife
died in the camp, and he was released finally by
the efforts of Czech and Jewish friends in
September 1945. His German citizenship was
nullified, he was promised to regain Czechoslo-
vak citizenship, and he accepted a position as a
research chemist at the Film Company at Cesky
Brod near Prague, branch factory of the Aussig
Combine (SPOLCHEMIE). There he worked out
a new photomechanical emulsion and
reorganized the testing system. Upon deciding
to go to America, he was told that the Czech
authorities intended to prevent him as a specialist
from leaving the country. The only place to
emigrate legally was to Germany. Through the
date of writing of his autobiography, he then lived
in Bavaria with his children, working on the
optical theory of light-scattering materials and
Kubelka, Paul
thermodynamics of absorption and capillary
condensation. In March 1947 he married
Dr. Brigitte Gade.
After emigrating to Brazil in 1950, Paul
Kubelka conducted further research to generalize
his optical-transfer theory to inhomogeneous
layers [3]. He passed away in 1956 in Rio de
Janeiro, where he was Head of the Research
Laboratory at the Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture.
References
1. Kubelka, P., Munk, F.: Ein Beitrag zur Optik der
Farbanstriche. Z. Techn. Physik. 12, 593–601 (1931).
See also English translation by S. Westin (An article on
optics of paint layers, http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/
~westin/pubs/kubelka.pdf)
View publication stats
3
2. Kubelka, P.: New contributions to the optics of
intensely light-scattering materials. Part I. J. Opt.
Soc. Am. 38, 448–457 (1948) [Also see errata, ibid
p. 1067.]
3. Kubelka, P.: New contributions to the optics of
intensely light-scattering materials. Part II.
Non-homogeneous layers. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 44,
330–334 (1954)
4. Schuster, A.: Radiation through a foggy atmosphere.
Astrophys. J. 21, 1–22 (1905). [see http://articles.
adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1905ApJ....21....1S/0000001.
000.html]
5. Duncan, D.R.: The colour of pigment mixtures.
Proc. Phys. Soc. London 52, 380–390 (1940). [also
see his article by the same title in J. Oil Colour Chem.
Assoc. 32, 296–321 (1949)]
6. Kubelka, P., Srebek, J.: Rutile pigments and process of
making the same. US Patent 2,062,133 (1936)
7. Kubelka, P., Srebek, J.: Rutile pigments. US Patent
2,062,134 (1936)