Back to Discover
⚛️

Birefringence

physical science Maturity 11-13

Some crystals can split light.

Crystal on graph paper.jpg
Crystal on graph paper.jpg
One beam of light becomes two. This makes a double picture. It can look like two things at once. It is very neat to see!
Calcite and polarizing filter.gif
Calcite and polarizing filter.gif
Can you see the two pictures?

44 words
🖼️ Images & Media (10)
File:Crystal on graph paper.jpg
Crystal on graph paper.jpg
File:Positively birefringent material.svg
Positively birefringent material.svg
File:Calcite and polarizing filter.gif
Calcite and polarizing filter.gif
File:Comparison_of_positive_and_negative_birefringence.svg
Comparison_of_positive_and_negative_birefr...
File:cmglee_London_Embassy_Gardens_pool_polariser.jpg
cmglee_London_Embassy_Gardens_pool_polariser.jpg
File:Food Polarization-Dierking.jpg
Food Polarization-Dierking.jpg
File:LCD layers.svg
LCD layers.svg
File:Birefringence Stress Plastic.JPG
Birefringence Stress Plastic.JPG
File:Rutile birefringence.gif
Rutile birefringence.gif
File:Birifrangence k-surface.gif
Birifrangence k-surface.gif
Up Next
⚛️
Crystal optics
Physical Science
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding