Prism
['prɪz(ə)m] or ['prɪzəm]
Definition
(noun.) optical device having a triangular shape and made of glass or quartz; used to deviate a beam or invert an image.
(noun.) a polyhedron with two congruent and parallel faces (the bases) and whose lateral faces are parallelograms.
Checked by Bryant--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A solid whose bases or ends are any similar, equal, and parallel plane figures, and whose sides are parallelograms.
(n.) A transparent body, with usually three rectangular plane faces or sides, and two equal and parallel triangular ends or bases; -- used in experiments on refraction, dispersion, etc.
(n.) A form the planes of which are parallel to the vertical axis. See Form, n., 13.
Inputed by Cyrus
Definition
n. (geom.) a solid whose ends are similar equal and parallel planes and whose sides are parallelograms: (opt.) a solid glass triangular-shaped body used for resolving rays of light into their separate colours.—adjs. Prismat′ic -al resembling or pertaining to a prism: separated or formed by a prism.—adv. Prismat′ically.—ns. Pris′matoid Pris′moid a figure in the form of a prism.—adjs. Pris′matoidal Pris′moidal; Pris′my prismatic in colour.
Checked by Elisha
Examples
- Of course I submitted to him, because it was my duty; it was my feeling for him, said Dorothea, looking through the prism of her tears. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Thus by the prism and the blowpipe were the same substances found in the sun, the stars, and the earth. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Newton in the next century, with the prism, decomposed light, and in a darkened chamber reproduced all the colours and tints of the rainbow. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Donkin and Bacon proposed placing the types upon a prism, which was to revolve against an irregularly shaped cylinder, on which the paper was to be placed. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Hence, when an object is looked at through a prism, it is seen quite out of place. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism are all very good words for the lips: especially prunes and prism. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Here it seemed to Little Dorrit that a change came over the Marshalsea spirit of their society, and that Prunes and Prism got the upper hand. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Kirchoff happened to let a solar ray pass through a flame coloured with sodium, and through a prism, so that the spectrum of the sun and the flame fell one upon another. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- We can show that when light passes through a prism and is refracted, forming a spectrum, as in Section 127, it is accompanied by heat. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- But the red rays pass through the second prism, are refracted, and bent from this course, and no new colors appear, no new spectrum is formed. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- To answer that question, let us very carefully insert a second prism in the path of the rays which issue from the first prism, carefully barring out the remaining six kinds of rays. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- On its top is an object glass which takes in all objects within its range and transmits an image of them through a right-angled prism and down the tube. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Another modification of Prunes and Prism insinuated itself on Little Dorrit's notice very shortly after their arrival. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- If the red light is compound, it will be broken up into its constituent parts and will form a typical spectrum of its own, just as white light did after its passage through a prism. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- When looked at through the prism, _A_ seems to be at _S_. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Their lenses for telescopes and microscopes and photographic cameras, and glass and prisms, and for all chemical and other scientific work, have a worldwide reputation. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- By means of other lenses and prisms an image of the external object is thus made visible to those within the submarine. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Lenses are very similar to prisms; indeed, two prisms placed as in Figure 69, and rounded off, would make a very good convex lens. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
Typist: Moira