Haidinger's brush
Haidinger's Brush
Haidinger's brush (/ˈhaɪdɪŋərz ˈbrʌʃ/; from the German scientist Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger who first described it in 1844) is a visual phenomenon that allows humans to detect the polarization of light.
Etymology
The term "Haidinger's brush" is named after the Austrian mineralogist and geologist, Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger, who first described the phenomenon in 1844.
Description
Haidinger's brush is a subtle visual effect that appears as a yellowish bow-tie or hourglass shape, with the 'brush' oriented perpendicular to the plane of polarization. It is best seen against a featureless blue or white background, such as the sky. The phenomenon is due to the dichroic absorption of light by the macula lutea in the human eye.
Related Phenomena
Haidinger's brush is related to other visual phenomena such as Rayleigh scattering, which explains why the sky is blue, and birefringence, a property of certain crystals and certain biological tissues to refract light in two different directions.
See Also
References
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Haidinger's brush
- Wikipedia's article - Haidinger's brush
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