Birefringent

Name:
Birefringent
Detailed information:
Descriptive of a type of crystal that separates an impinging light ray into two components that are polarized at right angles to each other; as a result, two images appear, each of which is caused by a light ray vibrating in only one direction (plane-polarized light). Such anisotropic crystals (e.g., Iceland spar) are used in nicol prisms.See Nicol; Anisotropic.