birefringence
Americannoun
noun
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The property or capacity of splitting a beam of light into two beams, each refracted at a different angle, and each polarized at a right angle to the other. Certain crystals such as calcite and quartz have this property.
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The difference in the index of refraction between two beams passing through a substance that has this property.
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See also refraction index of refraction
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of birefringence
First recorded in 1885–90; bi- 1 + refringence
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a separate study also published in Physical Review Letters, Naokawa examined ways to reduce errors introduced by telescopes when measuring cosmic birefringence.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026
Precisely determining the amount of rotation, known as the birefringence angle, is therefore essential for testing possible new physics.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026
Dynamical birefringence: electron–hole recollisions as probes of Berry curvature.
From Nature ● May 1, 2018
Note the double-refracted word “calcite” in the center of the figure due to birefringence.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
The difference between the two indices is a measure of the strength of the double refraction or birefringence.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
