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Prism (optics) A familiar dispersive prism. An optical prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that are designed to refract light. At least one surface must be angled — elements with two parallel surfaces are not prisms. The most familiar type of optical prism is the triangular prism, which has a triangular base ...
Spectroscopy, primarily in the electromagnetic spectrum, is a fundamental exploratory tool in the fields of astronomy, chemistry, materials science, and physics, allowing the composition, physical structure and electronic structure of matter to be investigated at the atomic, molecular and macro scale, and over astronomical distances .
A compact fluorescent lamp seen through an Amici prism. In optics and in wave propagation in general, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency; [ 1] sometimes the term chromatic dispersion is used for specificity to optics in particular. A medium having this common property may be termed a ...
The wavelength of light is then selected by the slit on the upper right corner. An optical spectrometer ( spectrophotometer, spectrograph or spectroscope) is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. [ 1]
Dispersive prism. In optics, a dispersive prism is an optical prism that is used to disperse light, that is, to separate light into its spectral components (the colors of the rainbow ). Different wavelengths (colors) of light will be deflected by the prism at different angles. [ 1] This is a result of the prism material's index of refraction ...
A prism spectrometer is an optical spectrometer which uses a dispersive prism as its dispersive element. The prism refracts light into its different colors ( wavelengths ). The dispersion occurs because the angle of refraction is dependent on the refractive index of the prism's material, which in turn is slightly dependent on the wavelength of ...
Geometrical optics. Geometrical optics, or ray optics, is a model of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstraction useful for approximating the paths along which light propagates under certain circumstances. The simplifying assumptions of geometrical optics include that light rays:
History of spectroscopy. Light separated into a spectrum by refraction through glass prism. Colour dispersion angles exaggerated for visualisation. Modern spectroscopy in the Western world started in the 17th century. New designs in optics, specifically prisms, enabled systematic observations of the solar spectrum.