doorstraal

Doorstraal is a Dutch term formed by the words door (through) and straal (beam or ray). In general usage it denotes the passage of a beam of light or other radiation through a material, object, or aperture. In scientific and technical writing the concept is usually described with terms such as transmissie or the transmission coefficient, but doorstraal can appear in various contexts as a more descriptive or lay-friendly way to express transmission.

Definition: The central idea is that part of an incident beam continues on the far side of a medium. The fraction that emerges is the transmittance, typically denoted T, and it depends on material properties, thickness, wavelength, and geometry. Attenuation and absorption reduce the transmitted portion of the beam.

Applications: In optics, doorstraal describes how transparent or semi-transparent a material is. In medical imaging, X-ray or CT beams doorstraal through body tissues to sensors to form images. In astronomy and atmospheric science, sunlight or starlight can doorstraal through clouds or interstellar gas, with scattering and absorption shaping the observed signal.

Etymology and usage: The word highlights the physical act of a beam passing through something. It is more common in everyday Dutch than in formal scientific texts, where transmissie is the preferred term.

See also: Transmissie, Transmittance, Attenuatie, Transilluminatie, Beer-Lambert law.