Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
double refraction

double refraction

8.6
A beam of light that splits into two rays that vibrate at right angles in some crystals
  • noun
  • /ˈdʌbəl rɪˈfrækʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : doble refracción
  • When light passes through calcite, it undergoes double refraction, creating two beams polarized in different directions.

Examples

  • My book tells me there's only one clear mineral that shows double refraction: calcite (CAL-site).

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The book says that it is double refraction.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • It will be capable of singular and double refraction.

    Blog text (11)

  • The phenomenon of double refraction can be observed clearly when you look through a piece of Iceland spar.

  • Scientists use double refraction to study the properties of certain minerals, allowing them to understand light behavior.

Synonyms

birefringence
vsdouble refraction
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A feature of some materials that makes light entering them split into two rays at right angles

is the phenomenon of a single ray splitting into two polarized rays in some materials

Surface Forms

double refraction singular
double refractions plural

Morphology

double + refraction

The term combines 'double' (twofold) with 'refraction' (bending or change of direction of waves), so its core meaning — a refraction that produces two rays — is directly compositional. Although the full technical detail (polarization at right angles) is specialized, a learner who knows both constituents can infer the basic phenomenon, making it transparent.

Etymology

Double refraction comes from a simple picture: when a beam of light enters some crystals it is bent into two separate rays, so you can see a double image. The word double means 'two' and refraction means 'bending of light', so the term names the process of 'one ray splitting into two'.