出典:Wiktionary
bi- + refringence.
birefringence (countable かつ uncountable, 複数形 birefringences)
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/07/11 17:00 UTC 版)
Birefringence, or double refraction, is the decomposition of a ray of light into two rays when it passes through certain anisotropic materials, such as crystals of calcite or boron nitride. The effect was first described by the Danish scientist Rasmus Bartholin in 1669, who saw it in calcite. The effect is now known to also occur in certain plastics, magnetic materials, various noncrystalline materials, and liquid crystals.