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optic axis
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optic axis

crystals
Also known as: local optic axis, local optic director
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Quick Summary

Optical crystallography is the study of the optical properties of crystals. Crystals can be classified by how they interact with polarized light.1

  • Optically isotropic crystals have one refractive index for each color.1
  • Optically uniaxial crystals exhibit double refraction, yielding two refractive indices. One is parallel to the optical axis, and the other is perpendicular to it.1
  • Optically biaxial crystals have three principal refractive indices along three mutually perpendicular optical axes.1

An optic axis is a line within a doubly refracting medium where all components of plane-polarized light travel at the same speed. The term "optical axis" is also used for lenses and mirrors, referring to a line through their geometric center. Biaxial crystals are characterized by having two optic axes. The relationship between a crystal's vibration directions and its crystallographic axes is known as its optic orientation.2345

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6 Britannica Sources
  1. optical crystallography
  2. optic axis
  3. biaxial
  4. optic orientation
  5. mineral - Symmetry elements
  6. optical axis

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