What are prisms?
Prisms, this term is found mainly in mathematics, but also in physics, especially in optics. Prisms are easily explained.
Prisms are special bodies in mathematics
- Prisms (the singular is called "prism") are special geometric bodies.
- They have a polygon as a base and - similar to a column - parallel and equally long side edges.
- The simplest and at the same time best-known prism is the Toblerone packaging. Here a triangle forms the base.
- However, there are other prisms, for example Quadrilaterals or even have hexagons as a base.
- According to the mathematical definition, every cuboid and every cube is also a prism at the same time.
- And a hexagonal column with a regular hexagon as its base is also one of the prisms.
- But: bodies that taper to a point - such as pyramids - do not count as prisms.
Prism calculation - how to calculate the volume
The volume of many geometric bodies can be relatively ...
Prisms in Optics - Applications of Geometric Solids
- Prisms made of glass or transparent plastics are used in many different ways in optical devices.
- In most cases, this is again the simplest case of a prism, namely with an equilateral or right-angled triangle as the base.
- These prisms serve as light deflectors in binoculars, astronomical telescopes and also the slide projectors that were used in the past.
- And such glass prisms are also perfect experiment objects to show how light is broken down into its colors. If a light beam from the air reaches the inclined surface of a glass prism, it will be refracted there, i.e. deflected from its original direction. However, this deflection depends on the wavelength, i.e. the color of the light. A white light beam splits into its colors when passing through a glass prism and at the same time demonstrates what happens in a rainbow.
How helpful do you find this article?
