Eli5, what is the definition of a solid angle in physics?
In: Physics
Imagine a sphere around you, a certain distance away. As if you were trapped inside a giant ball.
The solid angle tells you how much of that ball is covered by the thing you are measuring.
So if an object covered half the ball it would have a solid angle of 2π (as 4π is the whole sphere – we’re in radians, because maths). If it only covered a quarter of the sphere it would be just π.
It tells you how much of your theoretical maximum field of view (if you could see forever in all directions) is blocked by something.
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