caustic curve

noun

Optics.

1. a curve formed by a plane section of a caustic surface.

Word History and Origins

Origin of caustic curve¹

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

Secondary caustics are orthotomic curves having the reflected or refracted rays as normals, and consequently the proper caustic curve, being the envelope of the normals, is their evolute.

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The simplest case of a caustic curve is when the reflecting surface is a circle, and the luminous rays emanate from a point on the circumference.

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