interesting error: definitions of "refractory"

i intended to use the word "refractory" to describe the "bending" of light when it encounters, say, a prism. apparently, refraction is applied in different physics contexts, with very different meanings. in the context of light, it does refer to the changing of the wavelength (and directionality?) of light as it encounters a change in the medium (for example, from air to water, or from air to glass). it is in this context that i originally intended to use the word "refractory" in the previous "poem."

however, the more common definition of refractory seems to derive more from its application in metallurgy, where (as an adjective) it refers to that property of a substance which makes it resistant to heat (to melting, etc.). thus, substances like molybdenum and tungsten are said to be "refractory."

apparently, the etymology of "refractory" seems to connote obstinacy. in fact, that is the "common" usage of the term; it refers to someone or something which is "stubborn" or "obstinate" or "resistant to change."

i'd like to think that this extends the meaning of the previous poem, but to be honest, it is completely unintended, and therefore, takes it somewhere i don't think is appropriate... i do think that "truth is refractory" in the sense that it is "resistant"; however, i also think that truth is not some tungsten-like material (that is, unchanging). the resistance of truth in my mind has more to do with the way a single strand of hair "resists" being captured when floating in water; that is, ephemeral resistance. the resistance of withdrawal...

and besides all this talk of "resistance," all i wanted to talk about was "refraction."

willow apparently learned something of rainbows today, and was talking about how rainbows form when "blank" light hits droplets of water. i started trying to sound all "mr. know it all" and referred to "refraction," and tried to contrast it with "reflection." don't know if she really understood it, but it added yet another word to her vocabulary list anyhow...

from refraction to refractory... who knows that i'd pass from simple rainbows to obstinate unmeltable resistance? this is "refraction with words" if i ever saw it...