Thermal radiation from animal coats: coat structure and measurements of radiative temperature

A theory is developed to describe the transmission of thermal radiation through animal coats containing a uniform distribution of fibres. The theory predicts a dependence of the radiation energy emitted on both the coat structure and the direction of emission, and further suggests that directional radiometers (including thermographic devices) in general measure an effective coat temperature differing from that estimated from the net radiative energy balance.