Retrieving "Wave Plates" from the archives

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1. Polarization (physics)

   Linked via "wave plates"

   Certain anisotropic crystalline structures exhibit birefringence (or double refraction), meaning the phase velocity of light depends on the light's polarization direction relative to the crystal axes. When linearly polarized light enters such a material (e.g., calcite), the component polarized along one axis travels at a different speed than the component polarized along the other.
   This phenomenon is the basis for wave plates (retarders), which intentionally introduce a specific phase …