Prisms

A prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. Prisms are typically made of glass or other transparent materials, and they are used to bend, or refract, light in order to change its direction. Prisms are often used in optical instruments, such as binoculars and telescopes, to deviate the light path and create a more convenient viewing angle. Prisms can also be used to separate light into its constituent colors, a phenomenon known as dispersion. This is because different colors of light have different wavelengths, and therefore they are bent, or refracted, by different amounts when passing through a prism. By passing white light through a prism, the light is separated into the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Prisms can have various shapes, such as triangular, rectangular, or hexagonal, and the specific shape of a prism can affect its ability to refract light in different ways. For example, a triangular prism has three faces, and it can be used to deviate the light path by 90 degrees. A pentagonal prism, on the other hand, has five faces and can be used to deviate the light path by 72 degrees.