refraction
Physics. the change of direction of a ray of light, sound, heat, or the like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave velocity is different.
Ophthalmology.
the ability of the eye to refract light that enters it so as to form an image on the retina.
the determining of the refractive condition of the eye.
Astronomy.
Also called astronomical refraction. the amount, in angular measure, by which the altitude of a celestial body is increased by the refraction of its light in the earth's atmosphere, being zero at the zenith and a maximum at the horizon.
the observed altered location, as seen from the earth, of another planet or the like due to diffraction by the atmosphere.
Origin of refraction
1Other words from refraction
- re·frac·tion·al, adjective
- non·re·frac·tion, noun
- non·re·frac·tion·al, adjective
Words that may be confused with refraction
- diffraction, diffusion, reflection, rarefaction, refraction
Words Nearby refraction
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use refraction in a sentence
The film isn’t even purely the Hamiltonian refraction of history through a modern lens — although I think Sorkin wanted it to be.
That refraction separates the colors and sends them out of the raindrop heading in slightly different directions.
Explainer: Rainbows, fogbows and their eerie cousins | Matthew Cappucci | May 1, 2020 | Science News For StudentsIt is like looking through moving media of changing hue and variable refraction at something vitally unstable.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George WellsSuch were the different false hypotheses which Kepler made respecting the law of the refraction of light.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart MillIt deals with the sources of light, reflection, refraction, and decomposition of light.
Freedom in Science and Teaching. | Ernst Haeckel
I had with me an admirable Hadleys sextant, and an artificial horizon, and I corrected the mean refraction of the suns rays.
The Book of Curiosities | I. PlattsAccurately taken, the statistics should give the condition of refraction at the age at which the squint begins.
Schweigger on Squint | C. Schweigger
British Dictionary definitions for refraction
/ (rɪˈfrækʃən) /
physics the change in direction of a propagating wave, such as light or sound, in passing from one medium to another in which it has a different velocity
the amount by which a wave is refracted
the ability of the eye to refract light
the determination of the refractive condition of the eye
astronomy the apparent elevation in position of a celestial body resulting from the refraction of light by the earth's atmosphere
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
Scientific definitions for refraction
[ rĭ-frăk′shən ]
The bending of a wave, such as a light or sound wave, as it passes from one medium to another medium of different density. The change in the angle of propagation depends on the difference between the index of refraction of the original medium and the medium entered by the wave, as well as on the frequency of the wave. Compare reflection. See also lens wave.
The apparent change in position of a celestial body caused by the bending of light as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
usage For refraction
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for refraction
A change of direction that light undergoes when it enters a medium with a different density from the one through which it has been traveling — for example, when, after moving through air, it passes through a prism. (Compare reflection.)
Notes for refraction
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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