"Huygens' principle" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "From Christiaan Huygens, Dutch physicist.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Huygens' principle",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Physics",
          "orig": "en:Physics",
          "parents": [
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "id": "en-Huygens'_principle-en-name-FT3SFdBk",
      "links": [
        [
          "physics",
          "physics"
        ],
        [
          "assumption",
          "assumption"
        ],
        [
          "wavefront",
          "wavefront"
        ],
        [
          "source",
          "source"
        ],
        [
          "secondary",
          "secondary"
        ],
        [
          "wave",
          "wave"
        ],
        [
          "envelope",
          "envelope"
        ],
        [
          "light",
          "light"
        ],
        [
          "straight line",
          "straight line"
        ],
        [
          "sharp",
          "sharp"
        ],
        [
          "shadow",
          "shadow"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(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": [
        {
          "word": "Huygens-Fresnel principle"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "physics"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Christiaan Huygens",
        "Huygens' principle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Huygens' principle"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From Christiaan Huygens, Dutch physicist.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Huygens' principle",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Huygens-Fresnel principle"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English eponyms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proper nouns",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "en:Physics"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "physics",
          "physics"
        ],
        [
          "assumption",
          "assumption"
        ],
        [
          "wavefront",
          "wavefront"
        ],
        [
          "source",
          "source"
        ],
        [
          "secondary",
          "secondary"
        ],
        [
          "wave",
          "wave"
        ],
        [
          "envelope",
          "envelope"
        ],
        [
          "light",
          "light"
        ],
        [
          "straight line",
          "straight line"
        ],
        [
          "sharp",
          "sharp"
        ],
        [
          "shadow",
          "shadow"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(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."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "physics"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Christiaan Huygens",
        "Huygens' principle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Huygens' principle"
}