opalescence

English

Etymology

From opal +‎ -escence.

Noun

opalescence (countable and uncountable, plural opalescences)

1. the state of being opalescent
2. (physics) the milky iridescent appearance of a dense transparent medium when it is illuminated by polychromatic visible radiation (such as sunlight) due to local fluctuations in its density and therefore in its refractive index

References

• “opalescence”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.