Photonics Dictionary: P

A means of testing the strength of optical fibers to ensure reliability, by applying stress to the fiber so that any flaws generated during manufacturing or handling result in breakage of the fiber.

The pressure or stress of one newton per square meter.

A formulaic description of the linear change of the reciprocal optical dielectric tensor with either stress or strain.

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze stress distribution and behavior in materials. photoelastic equipment...

In optics, the double refraction that is produced when stress is applied to a transparent material. Plastics, which are especially photoelastic, can be formed into models of structures that are...

The process of determining, with the aid of plane-polarized light, the stress distribution in materials under complex systems of loading.

Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or displacement. Piezoelectric materials exhibit the piezoelectric effect, which...

Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical vibrations or vice versa. The piezoelectric effect is a property exhibited by...

Piezoelectricity is a property exhibited by certain materials in which they generate an electric charge in response to mechanical stress or deformation, and conversely, undergo mechanical deformation...

Piezoresistance is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where the electrical resistance of a material changes in response to applied mechanical stress or strain. This change in resistance...

A combination of a polarizer and an analyzer that is used to detect birefringence or rotation of the plane of polarization of materials placed between them. Useful for the determination of stress...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...

The minimum amount of strength characteristic of an optical fiber, as determined by proof stressing; expressed in thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch.