Nearby Words

Birefringence

[bahy-ri-frin-juhns]

bi·re·frin·gence

[bahy-ri-frin-juhns]
noun Optics.

Origin:
1885–90; bi-1 + refringence

bi·re·frin·gent, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Birefringence

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Birefringence is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
birefringence (ˌbaɪrɪˈfrɪndʒəns)
 
n
another name for double refraction
 
bire'fringent
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

birefringence bi·re·frin·gence (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.


bi're·frin'gent adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
birefringence   (bī'rĭ-frĭn'jəns)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. 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.

  2. 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 © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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