double refraction

American  

noun

Optics.

1. the separation of a ray of light into two unequally refracted, plane-polarized rays of orthogonal polarizations, occurring in crystals in which the velocity of light rays is not the same in all directions.

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double refraction British  

noun

1. Also called: birefringence.  the splitting of a ray of unpolarized light into two unequally refracted rays polarized in mutually perpendicular planes

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Etymology

Origin of double refraction

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

double refraction

If it contains no metal, when viewed by polarized light it will give a double refraction effect in handsome colors.

From Time Magazine Archive

The expert would, however, note it and could detect the imitation by that difference as well as by the lack of double refraction.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Wade, Frank Bertram

It is translucent, or transparent, and often exhibits the property of double refraction.

From Scenes and Andventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

The difference, 0.1723, between these two indices gives a measure of the bi-refringence or double refraction.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

For those who wish to study double refraction more in detail, Chapter VI., pages 40-52, of G. F. Herbert-Smith's Gem-Stones will serve admirably as a text.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Wade, Frank Bertram