Page:The Readable Dictionary.djvu/39

Rh Effulgent, sending forth a flood of light; as the effulgent orb of day. (ef for ex, forth.)

, to become white. (L.) Hence,

Incandescent, glowing with a white heat. When a bar of iron is heated it first becomes red, and, as the heat increases, it becomes incandescent.

, brightness; as, the luster of the sun; the luster of silk; the luster of a great name.

Lustrous, 1. Bright, Good sparks and lustrous.—Shakspeare. 2. Glossy; as, lustrous locks.

Illustrate, lit, to add luster or brightness. Hence, to make clear or intelligible by means of comments, examples, or pictures. (Il for in, upon.)

Illustrious, brightened with the splendor of high rank, or of great and noble achievements; as, an illustrious prince.

, the spoke of a wheel. (L.) Hence,

Ray, (contraction of radius,) a single line of light; because rays diverge from a luminous point like spokes from the hub of a wheel.

Radiate, to send forth rays.

Radiation, the act of sending forth rays.

Radiant, sending forth copious rays; as, the radiant sun.

Radiance, or Radiancy, vivid brightness, caused by radiation from a copious source of light.

Irradiate, to overspread an object or scene with rays of light, [ir for in, upon.)

[PHOS], light. (Gr.) Hence,

Phosphor, the Morning Star. (Gr. [phero], to bear.)

Phosphorus, a chemical element, so called from the readiness with which it is rendered luminous by friction.

Phosphorescent, shining with inherent light, without sensible heat. Decayed wood is sometimes phosphorescent.

Photography, the art of forming pictures by means of light. (Gr., [grapho], to draw, or delineate.)

Photometer, an instrument for measuring the intensity of light. (Gr., [metreo], to measure.)

To, is to decrease in brightness. The moon wanes nightly after the full.

To, is to diminish the luster, as that of a piece of burnished silver.

A is a body of parallel rays.

A is a body of rays that either converge or diverge.

A is the common point to which rays converge, or from which they diverge.

A is an arch of variously colored light, formed by the action of falling drops of rain upon the sun's rays.

A is a luminous circle which sometimes surrounds the sun or the moon.

A is a small luminous circle surrounding the sun or the moon.

A is a halo surrounding the head of the Savior in pictures.

A, or , is a luminous appearance resembling the sun, which is sometimes seen on the circumference of a solar halo.

consists in the evolution of light by the rapid passage of a body of the electric fluid through the air.

A is a luminous body either floating in, or flying rapidly through the air, or above it. (Gr [meteoros], elevated.

, or, are luminous bodies which