Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Constraint · constraint:landsberg-limit

Landsberg limit

The thermodynamic ceiling for converting thermal (blackbody) radiation to work; it does not apply to coherent radiation such as a microwave beam, so it is attached to phenomena, never to the radiation source as a whole.

Atlas record: 5 claims reference this constraint — 5 established.

Explorerelations · sources · cite

η ≤ 1 − (4/3)(T_c/T_s) + (1/3)(T_c/T_s)⁴ for conversion of blackbody radiation at T_s with a sink at T_c; 93.3 % at 6000 K / 300 K

5claims0enumerated routes0routes with complete-composition evidence0candidate routes not searched6cited sources

Relations

bounded by · 5
Photovoltaic effect—bounded by→Landsberg limitestablished
Bulk photovoltaic effect—bounded by→Landsberg limitestablished
  • the Shockley–Queisser limit does not apply because there is no junction, but the Landsberg bound does
Photothermal absorption—bounded by→Landsberg limitestablished
Photosynthesis—bounded by→Landsberg limitestablished
Photoelectrochemical effect—bounded by→Landsberg limitestablished
  • the universal ceiling on converting thermal (solar) radiation into a chemical fuel; the gap-pair-specific detailed-balance solar-to-hydrogen limit is lower and awaits its own curated model

Cited sources · 6

  1. [1]
    P. T. Landsberg, G. Tonge. Thermodynamic energy conversion efficiencies (1980)
    Journal of Applied Physics 51, R1–R20 · doi:10.1063/1.328187 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  2. [2]
    W. Shockley, H. J. Queisser. Detailed balance limit of efficiency of p-n junction solar cells (1961)
    Journal of Applied Physics 32, 510–519 · doi:10.1063/1.1736034 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  3. [3]
    J. E. Spanier, et al.. Power conversion efficiency exceeding the Shockley–Queisser limit in a ferroelectric insulator (2016)
    Nature Photonics 10, 611–616 · doi:10.1038/nphoton.2016.143 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  4. [4]
    A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)
    Wiley · doi:10.1002/9781119245964 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  5. [5]
    R. E. Blankenship, et al.. Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies and recognizing the potential for improvement (2011)
    Science 332, 805–809 · doi:10.1126/science.1200165 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  6. [6]
    M. Grätzel. Photoelectrochemical cells (2001)
    Nature 414, 338–344 · doi:10.1038/35104607 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record

Cite this entity

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). entity constraint:landsberg-limit: Landsberg limit. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/e/constraint/landsberg-limit

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