from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. An instrument for ascertaining, measuring, or exhibiting the properties of polarized light or for studying the interactions of polarized light with optically transparent media.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. a polarimeter
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. An instrument consisting essentially of a polarizer and an analyzer, used for polarizing light, and analyzing its properties.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An optical instrument, various forms of which have been contrived, for exhibiting the polarization of light, or for examining substances in polarized light.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. an optical device used to measure the rotation of the plane of vibration of polarized light
Sorry, no etymologies found.
He invented the polariscope, and produced the first solar coronagraph.
I found by inclosing the glass in heavy iron tubes and exposing it for five hours to a temperature somewhat above that of melting zinc, and then allowing an hour or two for the cooling process, that the strong polarization figure which it displays in a polariscope was completely removed, and hence the glass annealed.
The polariscope, directed towards this region, showed an internal polarisation, but, when pointed to the side where the mist still prevailed, there was no polarisation.
Iceland spar is used chiefly in the optical instrument known as the polariscope.
United States, a bounty of two cents per pound; and upon such sugar testing less than ninety degrees by the polariscope, and not less than eighty degrees, a bounty of one and three-fourth cents per pound, under such rules and regulations as the Commissioner of Internal
With a little practice this may be overcome and the neutral point found, but when it cannot, the ordinary telescope of the instrument may be replaced by another, which is furnished with the polariscope and which carries a yellow plate.
Until this is done, however, it will be necessary for the Internal Revenue Bureau to adopt, provisionally, one of the best existing forms of polariscope, and by carefully defining the scale of this instrument, establish a basis for its polarimetric work which will be a close approximation to an absolute standard, and upon which it can rely in case of any dispute arising as to the results obtained by the officers of the bureau.
It is the opinion of this Commission that the expression "testing ... degrees by the polariscope," used with reference to sugar in the act, is to be considered as meaning the percentage of pure sucrose the sugar contains, as ascertained by polarimetric estimation.
The commission recommends that the work of polarizing sugars be placed in the hands of chemists, or at least of persons who are familiar with the use of the polariscope and have some knowledge of the theory of its construction and of chemical manipulations.
The polariscope should not be exposed to the direct rays of the sun during part of the day, and should not be near artificial sources of heat, such as steam boilers, furnaces, flues, etc.