Albedo

Albedo (/ælˈbiːdoʊ/) 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. NOTE: Since it is the ratio of all reflected radiation to incident radiation it will include the diffuse AND the specular radiation reflected. It is, however, common to assume a surface reflects in either a totally specular manner or a totally diffuse manner, as this can simplify calculations.

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 general, the albedo depends on the directional distribution of incident radiation, except for Lambertian surfaces, which scatter radiation in all directions according to a cosine function and therefore have an albedo that is independent of the incident distribution. In practice, a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) may be required to accurately characterize the scattering properties of a surface, but albedo is very useful as a first approximation.

List of Xenosaga characters

The following is a list of Xenosaga characters.

Development

After Xenosaga I, all the character models were redesigned for Xenosaga II. they were all radically altered. MOMO's and Jr.'s designs became "...taller, slimmer and less child-like" with the end result making MOMO appear slightly older. Shion loses her glasses and alters her wardrobe while KOS-MOS gets blue highlights in her hair. When the first two episodoes of Xenosaga were remade in Xenosaga I+II for the Nintendo DS they were altered to two-dimensional computer graphics with sprites and visual novel-style dialogue sequences.

Playable characters

Shion Uzuki

KOS-MOS

Ziggy

Japanese Voice Actor: Masashi Ebara
English Voice Actor: Richard Epcar (all games), Jason Douglas (anime)

The stage of Xenosaga Pied Piper takes place T.C. 4667, 100 years prior to the events of Xenosaga Episode I. Before he became Ziggurat 8, Jan Sauer was a Captain in the 1875th Special Operations detachment of the Federation Police Bureau. He and his squad were deployed to the planet Abraxas (later renamed Michtam) to investigate murders in the U.M.N.. These terrorist acts were caused by a cloaked individual under the hacker alias "Voyager."

Albedo (alchemy)

In alchemy, albedo is one of the four major stages of the magnum opus; along with nigredo, citrinitas and rubedo. It is a Latinicized term meaning "whiteness". Following the chaos or massa confusa of the nigredo stage, the alchemist undertakes a purification in albedo, which is literally referred to as ablutio – the washing away of impurities. In this process, the subject is divided into two opposing principles to be later coagulated to form a unity of opposites or coincidentia oppositorum during rubedo.

Titus Burckhardt interprets the albedo as the end of the lesser work, corresponding to a spiritualization of the body. The goal of this portion of the process is to regain the original purity and receptivity of the soul. Psychologist Carl Jung equated the albedo with unconscious contrasexual soul images; the anima in men and animus in women. It is a phase where insight into shadow projections are realized, and inflated ego and unneeded conceptualizations are removed from the psyche.