In biochemistry, flow birefringence is a hydrodynamic technique for measuring the rotational diffusion constants (or, equivalently, the rotational drag coefficients]]. The birefringence of a solution sandwiched between two concentric cylinders is measured as a function of the difference in rotational speed between the iner and outer cylinders. The flow tends to orient an ellipsoidal particle (typically, a protein, virus, etc.) in one direction, whereas rotational diffusion (tumbling) causes the molecule to become disoriented. The equilibrium between these two processes as a function of the flow provides a measure of the axial ratio of the ellipsoidal particle. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Hydrodynamics is fluid dynamics applied to liquids, such as water, alcohol, oil, and blood. ... A calcite crystal laid upon a paper with some letters showing the double refraction Birefringence, or double refraction, is the decomposition of a ray of light into two rays (the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray) when it passes through certain types of material, such as calcite crystals, depending on...
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