Abbe number

From the name of Ernst Abbe, a German physicist.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.bə ˈnʌm.bɚ/, /ˈæ.bi ˈnʌm.bɚ/

Abbe number (plural Abbe numbers)

1. A number that represents the reciprocal of the dispersive power of a substance with transparent qualities.

• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “Abbe number”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.