APPENDIX I DERIVATION OF SEARCH SOLID ANGLE EQUATION

Figure 1 Geometry for Computing Solid Angle

We can write the area of the small square in the figure above as

dA dsdr R cos d Rd
or

dA R 2 cos d d .
If we want the total area over the angles 1 , 2 0 2, 0 2 and

0
A

2, 0 2 we can integrate the above over these angle ranges, viz.

0 2 0 2

2 0

R 2 cos d d .

Performing the integral results in

A R 2 sin 0 2 sin 0 2 .
After some trigonometric manipulations this reduces to

A 2 R 2 cos 0 sin 2 .
Finally, dividing by R 2 yields the solid angle, viz.

2 cos 0 sin 2 .

2005 M. C. Budge, Jr