Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Dispersion
Dis-per′sion
,Noun.
[CF. F.
dispersion
.] 1.
The act or process of scattering or dispersing, or the state of being scattered or separated;
as, the Jews in their
dispersion
retained their rites and ceremonies; a great dispersion
of the human family took place at the building of Babel.The days of your slaughter and of your
dispersions
are accomplished. Jer. xxv. 34.
2.
(Opt.)
The separation of light into its different colored rays, arising from their different refrangibilities.
Dispersion of the optic axes
(Crystallog.)
, the separation of the optic axes in biaxial crystals, due to the fact that the axial angle has different values for the different colors of the spectrum.
Webster 1828 Edition
Dispersion
DISPERSION
,Noun.
1.
The act of scattering.2.
The state of being scattered, or separated into remote parts; as, the Jews, in their dispersion, retain their rites and ceremonies.3.
By way of eminence, the scattering or separation of the human family, at the building of Babel.4.
In optics, the divergency of the rays of light, or rather the separation of the different colored rays, in refraction, arising from their different refrangibilities. The point of dispersion , is the point where refracted rays begin to diverge.5.
In medicine and surgery, the removing of inflammation from a part, and restoring it to its natural state.