CentralNotice From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search For other uses, see Albedo (disambiguation) . Percentage of diffusely reflected sunlight in relation to various surface conditions Albedo ( / æ l ˈ b iː d oʊ / ), or reflection coefficient , derived from Latin albedo "whiteness" (or reflected sunlight) in turn from albus "white", is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it. Its dimensionless nature lets it be expressed as a percentage and is measured on a scale from zero for no reflection of a perfectly black surface to 1 for perfect reflection of a white surface. Albedo depends on the frequency of the radiation. When quoted unqualified, it usually refers to some appropriate average across the spectrum of visible light . In gener...