quarter-wave plate

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(kwôr′tər wāv′)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
quar′ter-wave plate′  (kwôr′tər wāv′),USA pronunciation [Optics.]
  1. Opticsa crystal thin enough to cause a phase difference of 90° between the ordinary and extraordinary rays of polarized light, thereby converting circularly polarized light into plane polarized light. Cf. half-wave plate. 
  • 1880–85

'quarter-wave plate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
half-wave plate

Forum discussions with the word(s) "quarter-wave plate" in the title:


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