Definition

1. Noun:
   • A property of certain crystals or materials: Dichroism is a specific type of optical phenomenon where a substance displays two different colors when viewed from two different directions. It is a form of pleochroism limited to two colors.

Usage

• Dichroism is a technical term used primarily in physics, mineralogy, and materials science to describe the directional color dependence of light absorption in anisotropic materials.
• It is used as a non-count noun.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The dichroism of the tourmaline crystal was evident when it appeared green from one angle and brown from another.
  • Scientists study the dichroism of liquid crystals for applications in display technologies.

Advanced Usage

• Linear dichroism: A spectroscopic technique used to study the orientation of molecules.
  • Linear dichroism measurements provided insights into the protein's structure.
• Circular dichroism: A form of dichroism involving circularly polarized light, crucial for analyzing the secondary structure of proteins.
  • Circular dichroism is an essential tool in biochemistry for determining protein folding.

Variants and Related Words

• Dichroic (adj): Having or exhibiting dichroism.
  • The dichroic filter selectively passes light of a small range of colors.
• Dichroite (n): An older name for the mineral iolite, which exhibits strong dichroism.

Synonyms

• Pleochroism (n): The more general optical phenomenon of showing different colors when viewed from different directions. Dichroism is a specific type of pleochroism for two colors.

Related Phrases

• Dichroic ratio: A quantitative measure used in spectroscopy related to dichroism.
  • The dichroic ratio indicated a high degree of molecular alignment.

Noun

1. pleochroism of a crystal so that it exhibits two different colors when viewed from two different directions