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extraordinary ray

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noun Optics, Crystallography.
the part of a doubly refracted ray that has changed speed and vibrations in the principal plane of the crystal.
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Origin of extraordinary ray

First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use extraordinary ray in a sentence

  • Now the refractive index of Iceland spar is, for the extraordinary ray less, and for the ordinary greater, than for Canada balsam.

  • The extraordinary ray, produced by the double refraction of the ordinary ray, o.

  • The extraordinary ray, produced by the double refraction of the extraordinary ray, e. o o.

British Dictionary definitions for extraordinary ray

extraordinary ray

noun
optics the plane-polarized ray of light that does not obey the laws of refraction in a doubly refracting crystalCompare double refraction, ordinary ray
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
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