Iceland spar

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noun

a transparent variety of calcite that is double-refracting and is used as a polarizer.

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Origin of Iceland spar

First recorded in 1820–30

Words nearby Iceland spar

Iceland agate, Icelander, Icelandic, Iceland moss, Iceland poppy, Iceland spar, ice lolly, ice machine, ice maiden, icemaker, iceman

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Iceland spar in a sentence

Calcite when pure, as in the well-known Iceland-spar, is perfectly transparent and colourless.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Iceland spar

Iceland spar

noun

a pure transparent variety of calcite with double-refracting crystals used in making polarizing microscopes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Iceland spar

Iceland spar

[ īs′lənd ]

A form of calcite that is transparent and causes light passing through it to refract in two directions (forming a double image of an object seen through it). Iceland spar occurs in perfect rhombohedrons and is used in optical instruments.