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spectrum
(Encyclopedia) CE5 Dispersion of white light by a triangular prism spectrum, arrangement or display of light or other form of radiation separated according to wavelength, frequency, energy, or some other propert...ceilometer
(Encyclopedia)ceilometer sēlŏmˈĭtər [key], in aviation and meteorology, automatic instrument used to record ceiling, i.e., the altitude of the lowest cloud layer covering more than half of the sky. The ceilome...Maxwell, James Clerk
(Encyclopedia)Maxwell, James Clerk klärk [key], 1831–79, great Scottish physicist. After a brilliant career at Edinburgh and Cambridge, where he won early recognition with mathematical papers, he was a professor...Thoroughbred horse
(Encyclopedia)Thoroughbred horse, breed of light horse more properly known as the English running horse. As its name implies, it was the first pedigreed, or “thoroughbred” horse. It originated in England from c...photoelectric cell
(Encyclopedia) CE5 Photoelectric cell: Light causes a photosensitive surface to emit electrons, which flow as current to the positive terminal. A galvanometer measures the current and thus indicates light intensi...optical activity
(Encyclopedia)optical activity, the ability of asymmetric compounds to rotate the orientation of planar polarized light. Such compounds and their mirror images are know as enantiomers, or optical isomers. Although ...Balla, Giacomo
(Encyclopedia)Balla, Giacomo, 1871–1958, Italian painter, one of the founders of futurism. He moved from Turin to Rome in his twenties and began painting in a realist style. He travelled (1900) to Paris, where he...radiation
(Encyclopedia)radiation rāˌdēāˈshən [key], term applied to the emission and transmission of energy through space or through a material medium and also to the radiated energy itself. In its widest sense the te...Fresnel, Augustin Jean
(Encyclopedia)Fresnel, Augustin Jean ōgüstăNˈ zhäN frānĕlˈ [key] 1788–1827, French physicist and engineer. He is known for his research on light, especially on conditions governing interference phenomena ...diffraction
(Encyclopedia)diffraction, bending of waves around the edge of an obstacle. When light strikes an opaque body, for instance, a shadow forms on the side of the body that is shielded from the light source. Ordinarily...Browse by Subject
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