Albedo

Back when I fancied myself a writer, but hadn’t written a book and therefore had insecurities in calling myself by that moniker, I subscribed to A Word A Day, which sends you, well, a word a day. Most I’ve seen before (thanks, Mom), but today, wow, a word crossed my desk that has all kinds of wonderful possibilities. I love the definitions, but what I really love is the potential. It’s one of those words that, well, shimmers like The Word.

albedo (al-BEE-doh) noun

1. The fraction of light reflected from a body or surface.

For example, earth’s albedo is around 0.39.

2. The white, spongy inner lining of a citrus fruit rind.

[From Latin albedo (whiteness), Latin albus (white).]

Today’s word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=albedo

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

“The more powerful magnetic fields generated by the Sun during maximum

activity are known to block many of the particles, which would

theoretically lead to less cloud cover and less reflection, or a lower

albedo.”

James Glanz; Scientists Find Way to Gauge Earth’s Glow; The New York Times;

Apr 21, 2001.

“We don’t need to tell you that oranges are full of vitamin C. But did you

know that the white membrane under the skin, called the albedo, contains

almost as much C as the flesh of the fruit itself?

Myra Kornfeld; Giving Thanks; Vegetarian Times (Stamford, Connecticut);

Nov 2000.