optic axis


noun Crystallography.

(in a crystal exhibiting double refraction) the direction or directions, uniaxial or biaxial, respectively, along which this phenomenon does not occur.

Origin of optic axis

First recorded in 1655–65

British Dictionary definitions for optic axis

optic axis

noun

the direction in a uniaxial crystal or one of the two directions in a biaxial crystal along which a ray of unpolarized light may pass without undergoing double refraction

Medical definitions for optic axis

optic axis

n.

The line connecting the anterior and the posterior poles of the eye.