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Glossary of Solar Radiation Resource Terms |
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Other relevant glossaries
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A B C D E F G H
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IEA -
the International Energy Agency, an autonomous agency
linked to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
IEEE -
the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Illuminance -
solar radiation
in the visible region of the
solar spectrum
to which the human eye responds.
Incident Angle -
the angle that a ray (of solar energy, for example) makes with a line
perpendicular to the surface. For example,
a surface that directly faces the sun has a solar angle of incidence of zero, but if
the surface is parallel to the sun (for example, sunrise striking a horizontal rooftop),
the angle of incidence is 90°. The figure accompanying the description of
airmass illustrates a solar angle of incidence of
48.2° to a horizontal surface.
Incident Radiation -
incoming radiation; i. e.,
radiation that strikes a surface.
Infrared Radiation -
radiation with wavelengths greater than those of the visible light
(at about 8000 Angstroms or 800 nanometers(nm)) but shorter than those of microwaves
(at about 1,000,000 Angstroms or 800,000 nm). Infrared radiation is associated with
heat energy.
Insolation -
solar radiation on the surface of the Earth. This term has been generally replaced by
solar irradiance
because of the confusion of the word with insulation.
Inversion -
typically, a temperature inversion, or a zone in the atmosphere in which the
temperature increases with altitude, instead of the expected decrease. In general, an
inversion is any reversal of the normal trend of the property of an atmospheric
substance with respect to altitude.
Interferometer -
an instrument for determining the spectral distribution of irradiance. A
light interferometer divides a beam of light into two or more beams and
brings the beams back together. The recombined beams shine on a screen or
another object like a detector surface. The resulting interference fringes
can be used to determine the spectral nature of light.
Irradiance - the rate at which radiant energy
arrives at a specific area of surface during a specific time interval. This is known
as radiant
flux
density. A typical unit is W/m2.
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A B C D E F G H
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