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The terms "ordinary" and "extraordinary" are still applied to the polarization components perpendicular to and not perpendicular to the optic axis respectively, even in cases where no double refraction is involved. A material is termed uniaxial when it has a single direction of symmetry in its optical behavior, which we term the optic axis. It ...
An optic axis is a direction rather than a single line: all rays that are parallel to that direction exhibit the same lack of birefringence. [1] Crystals may have a single optic axis, in which case they are uniaxial, or two different optic axes, in which case they are biaxial. Non-crystalline materials generally have no birefringence and thus ...
Huygens principle of double refraction, named after Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, explains the phenomenon of double refraction observed in uniaxial anisotropic material such as calcite. When unpolarized light propagates in such materials (along a direction different from the optical axis ), it splits into two different rays, known as ...
Crystalline materials are capable of exhibiting double refraction, in which light rays entering a crystal are split into two beams that may exhibit different refractive indices, depending on the angle at which they enter the crystal. The phase contrast between the two rays can be detected with the human eye using particular optical filters.
Same double-slit assembly (0.7 mm between slits); in top image, one slit is closed. In the single-slit image, a diffraction pattern (the faint spots on either side of the main band) forms due to the nonzero width of the slit. This diffraction pattern is also seen in the double-slit image, but with many smaller interference fringes.
A comparison of refraction in a left-handed metamaterial to that in a normal material Video representing negative refraction of light at uniform planar interface.. One can choose to avoid directly considering the Poynting vector and wave vector of a propagating light field, and instead directly consider the response of the materials.
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Refraction at interface. Many materials have a well-characterized refractive index, but these indices often depend strongly upon the frequency of light, causing optical dispersion. Standard refractive index measurements are taken at the "yellow doublet" sodium D line, with a wavelength (λ) of 589 nanometers.