Solid angle is much, much farther away. The solid angle subtended by the complete ()-dimensional spherical surface of the unit sphere in -dimensional Euclidean space can be defined in any number of dimensions . One often needs this solid angle factor in calculations with spherical symmetry. It is given by the formula where is the gamma function. When is an integer, the gamma function can be computed explicitly. It follows that This gives the expected results of 4 steradians for the 3D sphere bounded by a surface of area and 2 radians for the 2D circle bounded by a circumference of length
Control volume Control volume In continuum mechanics and thermodynamics, a control volume is a mathematical abstraction employed in the process of creating mathematical models of physical processes. In an inertial frame of reference, it is a volume fixed in space or moving with constant flow velocity through which the continuum (gas, liquid or solid) flows. The surface enclosing the control volume is referred to as the control surface. At steady state, a control volume can be thought of as an arbitrary volume in which the mass of the continuum remains constant. As a continuum moves through the control volume, the mass entering