How to Use reflectance in a Sentence

reflectance

noun
  • At least during the day—at night, reflectance isn’t an issue.
    — Matt Simon, Wired, 11 Oct. 2021
  • That's because the reflectance of light from the Moon's surface is well known.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
  • The reflectance spectrum shows that the mu-ring is made from particles of water-ice.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Plumage that appears dull to us is probably blazed with UV reflectance to birds.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026
  • This exposes low reflectance material to the south of its peak-ring.
    — David Rothery, Discover Magazine, 11 Mar. 2016
  • It’s connected to the reflectance of ice and the heat coming out of air conditioners and cities.
    — Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 14 Aug. 2021
  • What if that blast of nutrients actually changes the color and reflectance of a tree’s leaves?
    — Matt Simon, Wired, 3 Sep. 2020
  • 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
  • Ice signaled its presence via the scattering and reflectance of light, as seen by ShadowCam.
    — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Plus, the premium nylon lenses are anti-scratch, anti-fog and have anti-reflectance coating.
    — Sarah Sekula, Fox News, 7 June 2018
  • The cameras give reflectance information, the sonar measures distance, and the laser scanner senses both.
    — Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Nov. 2016
  • Also, the glass-like finish of a high-gloss surface creates a significant amount of reflectance, which can create glare and eye fatigue.
    — Monique Valeris, ELLE Decor, 22 May 2019
  • So Hegde and his colleagues are compiling a database of reflectance spectra for different types of microbes.
    — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, 1 Nov. 2017
  • To avoid problems with painting vinyl siding, painters for years have been told never to switch to a darker color and to use colors with a light reflectance value of 55 or greater.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
  • 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
  • In these cases, the brightness of the full moon will depend on factors such as the size of the moon in the exoplanet’s night sky, its proximity to the host star, its reflectance and so on.
    — The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2022
  • Further complicating these feedback loops, more shrubs in turn make for a warmer Arctic thanks to the decreasing reflectance of the landscape, or its albedo.
    — Matt Simon, Wired, 7 Apr. 2021
  • The stickers were essentially thin, flexible layers of camo with the potential to take on a pattern to match the soldiers’ infrared reflectance to their background.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 28 Mar. 2023
  • The technique, called reflectance hyperspectral imaging, allows scientists to identify minerals based on patterns of dark lines in the spectrum.
    — Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2018
  • 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
  • For example, a matte finish can appear soft while having no reflectance and being forgiving to wall imperfections while a higher gloss finish on the wall will be more dramatic and reflect more light.
    — Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 21 Mar. 2024
  • The Retinex theory suggests that our visual system is able to discern light in two different ways—namely, the reflectance and illumination components of the light.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 7 Sep. 2024
  • The ever-growing pool of EO data lacks consistency in spectral reflectance, which in turn creates major issues for data scientists.
    — Elizabeth Duffy, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
  • The optical sensors in satellites are calibrated to measure reflectance over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 19 Feb. 2022
  • According to the team, the greatest power losses happen because the dust enhances the presence and reflectance of cirrus clouds, reducing how much radiation that reaches solar panels.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2026
  • After unearthing the objects, many of which were unbaked and badly worn, researchers used a technique called reflectance transformation imaging, or RTI to take images of the tablets.
    — Rachel Riederer, Smithsonian, 24 Oct. 2017
  • 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
  • Leica’s attention to detail also extends to the lens hoods for its S-mount lenses, which are covered in a velvety material that’s chosen specifically for its minimal reflectance.
    — Vlad Savov, The Verge, 27 Sep. 2018
  • Glints along early digital renderings of missiles were almost certainly computed using the Phong reflectance model that Bùi developed.
    — TIME, 16 May 2024
  • 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

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reflectance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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