Brewster's law

[ broo-sterz law ]

noun

, Optics.

1. the law that light will receive maximum polarization from a reflecting surface when it is incident to the surface at an angle angle of polarization, or polarizing angle having a tangent equal to the index of refraction of the surface.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Brewster's law¹

First recorded in 1825–30; named after Sir David Brewster (1781–1868), Scottish physicist