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angle of incidence

noun
  1. Also called incidence. Optics, Physics. the angle that a straight line, ray of light, etc., meeting a surface, makes with a normal to the surface at the point of meeting.
  2. (on an airplane) the angle, usually fixed, between a wing or tail root chord and the axis of the fuselage.
  3. Chiefly British. angle of attack(def 1).
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Origin of angle of incidence

First recorded in 1620–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for angle of incidence

angle of incidence

noun
  1. the angle that a line or beam of radiation makes with the normal to the surface at the point of incidence
  2. another name for angle of attack
  3. Also called: rigging angle of incidence the angle between the chord line of an aircraft wing or tailplane and the aircraft's longitudinal axis
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
angle of incidence in Science

angle of incidence

  1. The angle formed by a ray or wave, as of light or sound, striking a surface and a line perpendicular to the surface at the point of impact.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.