opalescence

  1. Noun.  the state of being opalescent.
  2. Noun.  (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.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.