the.com/dichroism
A material that changes color depending on which angle light grabs it from.
means The optical property where a material shows different colors or light absorption depending on the angle you view it from or the polarization of the light passing through it.
from Built from Greek 'dis' (twice) and 'chroma' (color), so literally 'two-colored.' The word was coined in the 19th century by mineralogists who kept noticing crystals like tourmaline that seemed to flash one color down one axis and a different color down another — the same stone living a double life depending on how light struck it.
- literal meaning
- Greek for two colors
- used in
- polarized sunglasses and gemstone grading
- famous example
- tanzanite looks blue or violet by angle
- cause
- crystal structure absorbs light directionally