Optical Prism

A prism is a transparent object surrounded by two planes that intersect but are not parallel to each other, used to split or disperse light beams. Prisms are polyhedrons made of transparent materials (such as glass, crystal, etc.). It is widely used in optical instruments.

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A prism, a transparent object surrounded by two intersecting but non-parallel planes, is used to split or disperse light. Prisms are polyhedrons made of transparent materials (such as glass, crystal, etc.). It is widely used in optical instruments. Prisms can be divided into several types according to their properties and uses. For example, in a spectroscopic instrument, the compound light is decomposed into a "dispersive prism", and the more commonly used is an equilateral prism; in periscopes, binoculars and other instruments, the direction of light is changed to adjust its imaging position. The "total reflection prism" is generally a right-angle prism.

Newton discovered the dispersion of light in 1666, and the Chinese were ahead of the foreigners in this aspect. In the 10th century AD, the Chinese called the natural transparent crystals exposed to sunlight "five-light stone" or "beaming stone", realizing that "when the sun shines, it turns into five colors like rainbows". This is the world's understanding of the dispersion phenomenon of light. It shows that people have been liberated from the mystery of the dispersion phenomenon of light and know that it is a natural phenomenon, which is a great advance in the understanding of light. Seven hundred years earlier than Newton's realization that he divided sunlight into seven colors through a prism and explained that white light is composed of these seven colors of light.

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Prisms

Dispersive Prisms

Total Reflection Prisms