albedo
noun
al·be·do
| \ al-ˈbē-(ˌ)dō
\
\
plural albedos
Definition of albedo
: reflective power
specifically
: the fraction of incident radiation (such as light) that is reflected by a surface or body (such as the moon or a cloud) — compare reflectance
Examples of albedo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Permafrost and loss of albedo are the only two feedbacks with cost estimates at this point. — Stephen Leahy, National Geographic, "A warming Arctic could cost the world trillions of dollars," 23 Apr. 2019 The new classification system uses what are called calibrated spectra and geometric albedos, measurements of the way light reflects off a planet's surface. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "New Planet "Fingerprint" System Will Help Find Habitable Exoplanets," 31 July 2018 The camera also maintains albedo, displacement, and normal map that are render-ready. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "HP’s Z 3D Camera puts Sprout’s scanning power on your PC," 8 Jan. 2018 This amount of carbon didn’t have much of an impact on the ice sheet’s overall albedo, or reflectivity, Stohl and Evangeliou said. — Megan Gannon, Scientific American, "Greenland's Biggest Fire Is a "Warning" for Its Future," 14 Apr. 2018 Eventually, Hooks found some Russian materials from the 1920s that, in pure mathematics, described the albedo of the Moon. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "The Greatest Leap, part 4: Catching Apollo fever as a new NASA employee," 30 Jan. 2018 The relative reflectivity of a surface is known as its albedo. — Betsy Mason, National Geographic, "11 Ways to See How Climate Change Is Imperiling the Arctic," 8 Jan. 2017 That’s about 20% longer than previous observations suggested, lowering the dwarf planet’s density to about 1885 kilograms per cubic meter (about the same as Pluto) and its albedo, or light-reflecting ability, to about 51%. — Sid Perkins, Science | AAAS, "Astronomers spot first ring around a distant dwarf planet," 11 Oct. 2017 This cycle is known as the ice-albedo feedback loop. — Betsy Mason, National Geographic, "11 Ways to See How Climate Change Is Imperiling the Arctic," 8 Jan. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'albedo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for albedo
albedo
noun
al·be·do
| \ al-ˈbēd-(ˌ)ō
\
\
plural albedos
Medical Definition of albedo
: the fraction of incident light or electromagnetic radiation that is reflected by a surface or body (as the moon or the skin)