The albedo of an object is the extent to which it reflects light, defined as the ratio of
reflected to incident
electromagnetic radiation. It is a
unitless measure indicative of a surface's or body's diffuse
reflectivity. The word is derived from albus, a
Latin word for "white". The albedo is an important concept in
climatology and
astronomy. In climatology it is sometimes expressed as a percentage. Its value depends on the
frequency of radiation considered: unqualified, it usually refers to some appropriate average across the spectrum of
visible light. In general, the albedo depends on the direction and directional distribution of incoming radiation. Exceptions are
Lambertian surfaces, which scatter radiation equally in all directions, so their albedo does not depend on the incoming distribution. In realistic cases, a
bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is required to characterise the scattering properties of a surface accurately, although albedos are a very useful first approximation.
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