plane of incidence

noun

, Optics.

1. a plane determined by a given ray, incident on a surface, and the normal at the point where the incident ray strikes the surface.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plane of incidence¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Angle of Polarization.—When light polarized at right angles to the plane of incidence falls on a refracting substance at an angle tan−1μ, where μ is the refractive index of the substance, all the light is refracted and none reflected; whereas when light is polarized in the plane of incidence, some of the light is always reflected whatever the angle of incidence.

From Project Gutenberg

If the angle of incidence be small, and if the incident light be polarized in or perpendicularly to the plane of incidence, the reflected light is polarized in the opposite manner.

From Project Gutenberg

The secondary rays emitted by a metallic surface when struck by X rays vary, in fact, in intensity when the position of the plane of incidence round the primary pencil is changed.

From Project Gutenberg