double refraction

double refraction Word Origin noun Optics.

1. the separation of a ray of light into two unequally refracted, plane-polarized rays of orthogonal polarizations, occurring in crystals in which the velocity of light rays is not the same in all directions.

Origin of double refraction First recorded in 1870–75 Also called birefringence. British Dictionary definitions for double refraction double refraction noun

1. the splitting of a ray of unpolarized light into two unequally refracted rays polarized in mutually perpendicular planesAlso called: birefringence