A mathematical description of wave propagation in a birefringent medium is presented below. … See more

Much of the work involving polarization preceded the understanding of light as a transverse electromagnetic wave, and this has affected some terminology in use. Isotropic materials have symmetry in all directions a… See more

While the best known source of birefringence is the entrance of light into an anisotropic crystal, it can result in otherwise optically isotropic materials in a few ways:
• Stress birefringence results when a normally is… See more

The best characterized birefringent materials are crystals. Due to their specific crystal structures their refractive indices are well defined. Depending on the symmetry of a crystal structure (as determined by one of the 32 p… See more

Birefringence and other polarization-based optical effects (such as optical rotation and linear or circular dichroism) can be observed by measuring any change in the polarization of light passing through the material. T… See more

Birefringence is used in many optical devices. Liquid-crystal displays, the most common sort of flat-panel display, cause their pixels to become lighter or darker through rotation of the polarization (circular birefringen… See more