reflectivity
noun
: the reflective quality or power of a surface or material
… conducting "reflectivity tests" to see whether Saudi sand when viewed through the goggles creates a sparkling effect that disorients pilots and causes them to send their helicopters careening to the ground.—
Newsweek
Newsweek… there are many examples of luster-decorated ceramics, in which Islamic potters emulated the reflectivity of metalwork by applying metal oxides to white-glazed vessels …—Roberta Smith
Roberta SmithThe warming at the surface could be expected to melt snow and ice, reducing the earth's albedo, or reflectivity.—Roger Revelle
Roger RevelleExamples of reflectivity in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The idea behind the concept is simple: Large amounts of aerosols would be sprayed into the clouds above the ocean in order to increase their reflectivity.
—Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
The outer shell features over 1,000 aerospace-grade aluminum panels from Ultratech Aerospace, and was later robotically painted to show seamless reflectivity and the contrast between the Raiders logo and the base finish.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 1 Feb. 2024
The habitable zone is usually calculated based on factors such as the size, temperature and mass of a star as well as the reflectivity of a planet’s surface.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
This is based on the average reflectivity of the parent asteroids; obviously, any darker or brighter boulders will throw these estimates off.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 July 2023
Losing sea ice also changes the reflectivity of the waters around Antarctica.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2024
Future designs could improve with less reflective screens, given that reflectivity is especially distracting on a dual-screen laptop where one screen can cast reflections on the other.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2023
The planet’s reflectivity increased in 2002 and dimmed in 2007.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 Aug. 2023
Marine-cloud brightening would involve spraying sea salt 1,000 meters into the air to seed the formation of cloud droplets, increasing the reflectivity of low-lying clouds over some parts of the ocean.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2023
Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
The outer shell features over 1,000 aerospace-grade aluminum panels from Ultratech Aerospace, and was later robotically painted to show seamless reflectivity and the contrast between the Raiders logo and the base finish.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 1 Feb. 2024
The habitable zone is usually calculated based on factors such as the size, temperature and mass of a star as well as the reflectivity of a planet’s surface.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
This is based on the average reflectivity of the parent asteroids; obviously, any darker or brighter boulders will throw these estimates off.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 July 2023
Losing sea ice also changes the reflectivity of the waters around Antarctica.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2024
Future designs could improve with less reflective screens, given that reflectivity is especially distracting on a dual-screen laptop where one screen can cast reflections on the other.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2023
The planet’s reflectivity increased in 2002 and dimmed in 2007.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 Aug. 2023
Marine-cloud brightening would involve spraying sea salt 1,000 meters into the air to seed the formation of cloud droplets, increasing the reflectivity of low-lying clouds over some parts of the ocean.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reflectivity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near reflectivity
Cite this Entry
“Reflectivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reflectivity. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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