noun
Meaning 1
A curve to which the ray of light, reflected or refracted by another curve, are tangents, the reflecting or refracting curve and the luminous point being in one plane.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: engineering, natural-sciences, optics, physical-sciences, physics
Examples
- Caustic curves and surfaces are called catacaustic when formed by reflection, and diacaustic when formed by refraction.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided