Dictionary Definition
translucent adj : almost transparent; allowing
light to pass through diffusely; "translucent amber";
"semitransparent curtains at the windows" [syn: semitransparent]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From translucentem, nominative
of translucens which
is present participle of translucere, trans- "through" and
lucere "to shine".
Pronunciation
- /trænzˈluː.sənt/, /tr
Extensive Definition
otheruses transparency In optics, transparency is the
material property of
allowing light to pass
through. In mineralogy, another term for
this property is diaphaneity. The opposite property is opacity.
Transparent materials are clear: they can be seen through.
Translucent materials allow light to pass through them only
diffusely: they cannot be seen through; contrary to popular belief,
translucency does not include see-through colored objects such as
(for instance) emerald
in its cut state (which is transparent) but does include things
such as frosted
glass which allow light to come through but no
images.
Transparency
Though transparency usually refers to visible light in common usage, it may correctly be used to refer to any type of radiation. For example, flesh is transparent to X-rays, while bone is not, making X-ray imaging useful for medicine.Examples of transparent
materials are air and some
other gases, liquid such as water, most
glasses, and plastics such as Perspex. Where the
degree of transparency varies according to the wavelength of the light, the
image seen through the material is tinted. This may be due to
certain metallic oxide molecules in glass, or larger colored
particles, as in a thin smoke. If many such particles are
present the material may become opaque, as in thick
smoke.
From electrodynamics
it results that only a vacuum is really transparent in the strict
meaning, any matter has a certain absorption for electromagnetic
waves.
There are transparent glass walls that can be made
opaque
by the application of an electric charge, a technology known as
electrochromics.
Certain crystals are transparent because
there are straight lines through the crystal structure. Light
passes unobstructed along these lines.
There is a complicated theory
"predicting" (calculating) absorption and its spectral dependence
of different materials. See: absorption
(optics) - absorption of photons by a material and
absorption spectroscopy.
See also
translucent in Afrikaans:
Transparansie (optika)
translucent in Catalan:
Transparència
translucent in German:
Transparenz
translucent in Estonian:
Läbipaistvus
translucent in Spanish:
Transparencia
translucent in French:
Transparence
translucent in Hebrew: שקיפות
(אופטיקה)
translucent in Latvian:
Caurspīdīgums (optika)
translucent in Lithuanian:
Skaidrumas
translucent in Dutch:
Transparantie (optiek)
translucent in Japanese:
透明
translucent in Norwegian:
Transparens
translucent in Uzbek:
Shaffoflik
translucent in Low German:
Transparenz
translucent in Polish:
Stopień przezroczystości
translucent in Portuguese:
Transparência (óptica)
translucent in Romanian:
Transparenţă
translucent in Russian:
Прозрачность среды
translucent in Simple
English: Transparency
translucent in Swedish:
Transparens (optik)
translucent in Chinese:
透明
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
apparent, clean-cut, clear, clear as crystal, clear as
day, clear-cut, cloudless, coherent, connected, consistent, crisp, crystal, crystal-clear, crystalline, defined, definite, diaphanous, direct, distinct, explicit, express, light, lightish, lightsome, limpid, loud and clear, lucent, lucid, luculent, luminous, obvious, pellucid, perspicuous, plain, relucent, see-through, semipellucid, semitranslucent,
serene, simple, straightforward,
translucid, transparent, transpicuous, unambiguous, unclouded, unconfused, unequivocal, univocal, unmistakable, unobscured,
well-defined