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Webster 1913 Edition
Opalescence
Oˊpal-es′cence
,Noun.
(Min.)
A reflection of a milky or pearly light from the interior of a mineral, as in the moonstone; the state or quality of being opalescent.
Webster 1828 Edition
Opalescence
OPALES'CENCE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
opalescence
opalescence
English
Noun
opalescence (countable and uncountable, plural opalescences)
- the state of being opalescent
- (physics) the milky iridescent appearance of a dense transparent medium when it is illuminated by polychromatic visible radiation (such as sunlight) due to local fluctuations in its density and therefore in its refractive index
References
- opalescence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913