Snellschen

Snellschen is a German adjectival form used to indicate relation to the surname Snell, most often in scientific terms. In contemporary German, it commonly appears in phrases such as Snellsches Gesetz, which is the standard formulation used for Snell's law in optics.

Snell's law describes the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction of a light ray passing through the boundary between two media with different refractive indices. In mathematical form, n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2, where n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of the media, and θ1 and θ2 are the respective angles to the normal. The term Snellschen is used to attribute the concept to Snell in German-language texts, alongside other phrases derived from his name.

Historically, the law is attributed to the Dutch mathematician Willebrord Snell (1591–1626), who is also known as Snellius. He described the proportional relationship governing refraction in the early 17th century. The usage of Snellschen in German reflects a general pattern of forming adjectives from surnames to label scientific principles, theories, or devices associated with their discoverers or developers.

In summary, Snellschen denotes relation to Snell in German terminology, most prominently seen in the context of Snell's law in optics, and serves as a linguistic indicator of attribution to Snell.