depolarization

De*po`lar*i*za"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. dépolarisation.] Defn: The act of depriving of polarity, or the result of such action; reduction to an unpolarized condition. Depolarization of light (Opt.), a change in the plane of polarization of rays, especially by a crystalline medium, such that the light which had been extinguished by the analyzer reappears as if the polarization had been anulled. The word is inappropriate, as the ray does not return to the unpolarized condition.

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