If a surface exhibits Lambertian reflectance, light falling on it is scattered such that the apparent brightness of the surface to an observer is the same regardless of the observer's angle of view. More technically, the surface
luminance is the same regardless of angle of view. For example, unfinished wood exhibits roughly Lambertian reflectance, but wood finished with a glossy coat of
polyurethane does not (depending on the viewing angle,
specular highlights may appear at different locations on the surface). Not all rough surfaces are perfect Lambertian reflectors, but this is often a good approximation when the characteristics of the surface are unknown. Lambertian reflectance is named after
Johann Heinrich Lambert.
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