WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
dou′ble refrac′tion, [Optics.]
  1. Opticsthe 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. Also called birefringence. 
  • 1870–75

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
double refraction
  1. the splitting of a ray of unpolarized light into two unequally refracted rays polarized in mutually perpendicular planes
    Also called: birefringence
'double refraction' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Kerr effect - biaxial - birefringence - optic axis - photoelasticity - uniaxial

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