Photonics Dictionary: S

Characterizes an Earth-orbiting satellite whose orbit plane is near polar and positioned at an altitude that allows it to pass over every spot on the Earth at identical local sun time twice a day.

Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the building by a series of mirrors and lenses. Ideally, cool lighting is obtained by...

An instrument consisting essentially of a photoelectric cell filtered to respond to a specified wavelength region, an amplifier of sufficient gain to provide power enough to control movement of a...

A handheld navigational instrument used to measure the elevation angle of celestial bodies such as the sun. An image of the sun is viewed through a small telescope via two plane mirrors so that any...

A compact high-pressure light source in which an electrical discharge between electrodes spaced no more than 12 mm apart occurs in a xenon or other gas medium, providing a visible light resembling a...

A group of solar cells that are electrically contacted and physically arranged so that they may be oriented in the direction of the sun simultaneously.

A device for converting sunlight into electrical energy, consisting of a sandwich of P-type and N-type semiconducting wafers. A photon with sufficient energy striking the cell can dislodge an...

An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and concentration of solar radiation on that area. The system usually consists of a...

Plasma formed by heat radiation from the sun.

Radiation from the sun that is made up of a very wide range of wavelengths, from the long infrared to the short ultraviolet with its greatest intensity in the visible green at about 5000 Å. The...

The simulation of solar radiation in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum for the analysis of extraterrestrial sunlight and its effects on spacecraft, materials and components.

A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for testing and research purposes. Solar simulators are employed in various...

The constant outward flow of weakly magnetized plasma from the sun that is deflected by the magnetic field of the earth and, flowing around the field, creates a magnetosphere.

The image of the sun produced by a spectroheliograph.

An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously scanning a photographic plate for analysis of the solar spectral lines. If...

A spectroradiometer is a device used to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum. It provides a detailed spectral distribution of light, breaking...

A feature in the chromosphere of the sun formed by a jet of gas that reaches from the chromosphere into the corona and has the appearance of a brightly luminous spike.

The angle subtended by the mean distance of the Earth from the sun at the distance of a given star from the sun.

Family of deterministic models of plant canopy reflectance that provides deterministic formulation for each necessary parameter and a method to calculate reflectance as a function of sun and observer...