optical phenomenon
- noun
- /ˈɑptɪkəl fɪˈnɛmənən/
- Specialized
:
fenómeno óptico
- An optical phenomenon called a halo appears around the moon when moonlight interacts with ice crystals in the atmosphere.
Examples
-
In research news, by exploiting an overlooked optical phenomenon, ultrathin metal surfaces were made to shine vibrant hues.
Blog text (9) -
Otherwise known as the birefringence, an optical phenomenon caused by the light and...
-
Many new nonlinear optical phenomena were reported during the next few years, both in Physical Review Letters and in the Physical Review.
Academic text (1993) -
In the other case, the backside region of the brain where optic nerve electrical responses are processed, the same disturbances are revealed as optical phenomena.
Blog text (29) -
This colorful optical phenomenon, known as a sundog, occurs when ice crystals in the atmosphere refract sunlight.
-
Sharp-eyed researchers noticed an intriguing optical phenomenon in the photograph that changed the way we understand light.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'optical' (relating to light or vision) plus 'phenomenon' (an observable event), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes an event related to light. This adjective+noun pattern is a standard, cross-linguistically common compositional construction (e.g. Spanish 'fenómeno óptico'), making it immediately predictable to B1 learners.
Etymology
Optical phenomenon comes from simple images of light doing something you can see, like sunlight making a rainbow or hot air on the road making a mirage. Here optical means about sight or light and phenomenon means a thing that happens, so the phrase means 'a visible event caused by light'.
