Dichroisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A phenomenon where a substance exhibits different colors or absorption properties when viewed from different angles or under different lighting conditions
2. It refers to the optical property of certain materials to reflect or absorb light differently based on the wavelength or the angle of observation
3. Describing the characteristic of specific minerals or compounds to display varying colors based on the direction of incoming light or the viewer's position

Etymology: "Dichroisms" is the plural of "dichroism," the property some materials have of showing different colours depending on the direction they are viewed from or the wavelength of light passing through them. The base term comes from Greek "dikhroos," meaning "two-coloured," from "di-" ("two") and "chroa" ("colour"). It was adopted into scientific English in the mid-nineteenth century, probably coined by the Austrian mineralogist Wilhelm Haidinger around 1845 to describe crystals that appeared to change colour when turned.

Synonyms: color changes, color shifts