Huygens' principle

English

Etymology

From Christiaan Huygens, Dutch physicist.

Proper noun

Huygens' principle

1. (physics) The assumption that each point on a wavefront may be regarded as a source of secondary waves and that the position of the wavefront at a later time is determined by the envelope of these secondary waves; proposed in order to explain the fact that light travels in a straight line and casts sharp shadows.

Related terms

• Huygens-Fresnel principle