: the fraction of the total radiant flux incident upon a surface that is reflected and that varies according to the wavelength distribution of the incident radiation
The basis of this approach is that different materials exhibit unique reflectance and emission properties as a function of wavelength across the electromagnetic spectrum. Jeffrey Star and John Estes
Recent Examples on the WebThat’s the equivalent of a 0.5% decrease in the Earth’s reflectance. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2021 At least during the day—at night, reflectance isn’t an issue. Matt Simon, Wired, 11 Oct. 2021 When the sun shines on our planet, the Earth reflects nearly a third of that light back out into space, but scientists say that warming oceans thanks to climate change have actually caused a drop in that reflectance, commonly called albedo. Eric Mack, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2021 That same process also changes the reflectance of the surface, exposing more dark ground and evaporating more water. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2021 For each point, the camera gathers detailed reflectance information across a range of wavelengths, generating gigabytes of data during an hourlong scan.New York Times, 28 June 2021 Researchers confirmed that the mark was a fingerprint through reflectance transformation imaging (RTI), which combines photographs captured under different light sources to create a detailed virtual model. Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2021 Or a male Ramphocelus carbo has barbules that are angled instead of flat, to decrease the reflectance of the feather by scattering the light that hits it. Matt Simon, Wired, 30 Apr. 2021 One way buildings can earn that credit is to use materials or devices with an initial solar reflectance of 33 percent at installation or 28 percent over three years, Thompson says. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2021 See More