Solid angle to the unit sphere with center P, which can be calculated as the surface integral: where formula_5 is the unit vector corresponding to formula_6, the position vector of an infinitesimal area of surface with respect to point P, and where formula_7 represents the unit normal vector to . Even if the projection on the unit sphere to the surface S is not isomorphic, the multiple folds are correctly considered according to the surface orientation described by the sign of the scalar product formula_8. Thus one can approximate the solid angle subtended by a small facet having flat surface area ,
Volume element formula_25. In coordinates, where formula_27 is the determinant of the metric tensor "g" written in the coordinate system. A simple example of a volume element can be explored by considering a two-dimensional surface embedded in "n"-dimensional Euclidean space. Such a volume element is sometimes called an "area element". Consider a subset formula_28 and a mapping function thus defining a surface embedded in formula_30. In two dimensions, volume is just area, and a volume element gives a way to determine the area of parts of the surface. Thus a volume element is an expression of the form that allows one to