The phenomenon shown in the image is

• A. Refraction
• B. Birefringence
• C. Diffraction
• D. Absorption

Answer: (B)

Birefringence happens when light goes through a material whose optical properties depend on direction. In such a material, the incoming light splits into two rays that travel at different speeds because there are two different refractive indices for orthogonal polarizations. These two rays are polarized perpendicularly and can interfere, producing double images or colorful patterns when viewed with polarized light. That’s why the phenomenon in the image is best described as birefringence. Refraction is just the single bending of light, diffraction involves bending around edges and interference patterns from slits or obstacles, and absorption is the loss of light intensity—none of those involve splitting into two polarized components like birefringence does.