Nearby words
birdseye, birdseye, clarence, birdshot, birdsong, birectangular, birefringence, bireme, birendra bir bikram shah dev, biretta, birgitta, biri
Origin of birefringence
Related formsbi·re·frin·gent, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for birefringence
The difference between the two indices is a measure of the strength of the double refraction or birefringence.
British Dictionary definitions for birefringence
Derived Formsbirefringent, adjective
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
Medicine definitions for birefringence
birefringence
[ bī′rĭ-frĭn′jəns ]
n.
The resolution or splitting of a light wave into two unequally reflected waves by an optically anisotropic medium such as calcite or quartz.
Related formsbi′re•frin′gent adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for birefringence
birefringence
[ bī′rĭ-frĭn′jəns ]
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.
The difference in the index of refraction between two beams passing through a substance that has this property. See also refraction index of refraction.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.