polarizing angle


noun Optics.

See under Brewster's law.

Origin of polarizing angle

First recorded in 1820–30

Definition for polarizing angle (2 of 2)

Brewster's law

noun Optics.

the law that light will receive maximum polarization from a reflecting surface when it is incident to the surface at an angle (angle of polarization or polarizing angle) having a tangent equal to the index of refraction of the surface.

Origin of Brewster's law

named after Sir David Brewster (1781–1868), Scottish physicist