Abbe number
English edit
Etymology edit
From the name of Ernst Abbe, a German physicist.
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɑ.bə ˈnʌm.bɚ/, /ˈæ.bi ˈnʌm.bɚ/
Noun edit
Abbe number (plural Abbe numbers)
- A number that represents the reciprocal of the dispersive power of a substance with transparent qualities.
References edit
- Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “Abbe number”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.