plane of incidence

noun

Optics.

1. a plane determined by a given ray, incident on a surface, and the normal at the point where the incident ray strikes the surface.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plane of incidence¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Angle of Polarization.—When light polarized at right angles to the plane of incidence falls on a refracting substance at an angle tan−1μ, where μ is the refractive index of the substance, all the light is refracted and none reflected; whereas when light is polarized in the plane of incidence, some of the light is always reflected whatever the angle of incidence.

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If the angle of incidence be small, and if the incident light be polarized in or perpendicularly to the plane of incidence, the reflected light is polarized in the opposite manner.

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The secondary rays emitted by a metallic surface when struck by X rays vary, in fact, in intensity when the position of the plane of incidence round the primary pencil is changed.

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