Prism.

Transparent material such as glass or plastic which bends incoming light to different angles depending on the frequency. Prisms can, for example, split white light into its constituent colours, as demonstrated by English physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). This principle is known as dispersion.

SLR cameras usually employ pentaprisms - five-sided prisms - as part of the viewfinder optical system.

cf. dispersion, pentaprism, viewfinder, transparent.

Entry last updated 2002-04-27. Term 965 of 1487.

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