Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

10:35
Novel Techniques for Observing Structural Dynamics of Photoresponsive Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 29, 2018
A new technique to study photoelastic dispersion in cubic and noncubic crystals
Applied Optics
|January 16, 2010
Abstract:
A new technique employing a Soleil-Babinet compensator is described to study the photoelastic behavior of crystals at various wavelengths. The photoelastic dispersion is reported on an isometric crystal, sodium chloride, and a birefringent crystal, barite, for some typical orientations. The values of the stress birefringence obtained at different wavelengths are compared with the values given in the literature. The merits of the present technique over the previous methods are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Determination of Crystal Structures
In the late 1800s, the revelation that light extended beyond visible wavelengths led to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. Recognized as high-energy electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths, X-rays prompted exploration into their interaction with crystals. Max von Laue proposed in 1912 that the periodic arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in crystals would cause them to diffract X-rays, a hypothesis confirmed through experiments with copper sulfate and zinc sulfide...
X-ray Crystallography
The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
