Standard examples are solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass products. A device that receives solar energy and converts it to useful energy forms. The following figure from Shining On illustrates several types of receivers. The fraction or percent of a particular frequency or wavelength of electromagnetic radiation that is reflected from the surface of a substance without being absorbed or transmitted. The bending of electromagnetic radiation by its passage through a medium of a high refractive index.
Light is refracted by passing through a lens, water, or the atmosphere.
The determination of a quantity by detecting it from a distance. A common application of remote sensing is the use of satellite-borne instruments to determine the location and amount of resources on the surface of the Earth. An instrument that determines total solar radiation and diffuse sky radiation by periodically shading the total sky sensor from the sun with a rotating shadow band . Below is a picture of a rotating shadow band radiometer at the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory .