Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
A local model of light interaction with transparent crystalline media
Victor A Debelov1, Dmitry S Kozlov
1Laboratory of Numerical Analysis and Computer Graphics, Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, prospect Akademika Lavrentjeva, 6, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia. debelov@oapmg.sscc.ru
Abstract:
The paper is devoted to the derivation of a bidirectional distribution function for crystals, which specifies all outgoing rays for a ray coming to the boundary of two transparent crystalline media with different optical properties, i.e., a particular mineral, directions of optical axes if they exist, and other features. A local model of interaction based on the notion of polarized light ray is introduced, which is specified by a geometric ray, its polarization state, light intensity, and so on. The computational algorithm that is suggested allows computing the directions and other properties of all (up to four) outgoing rays. In this paper, isotropic, uniaxial, and biaxial crystals are processed in a similar manner. The correctness of the model is validated by comparison of photos of real uniaxial crystals with corresponding computed images. The case of biaxial crystals is validated by testing the effect of conical refraction. Specifications of a series of tests devoted to rendering of optically different objects is presented also.
Related Concept Videos
Determination of Crystal Structures
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...
Interference and Diffraction
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
Crystal Density

