Nicol prism

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Nicol prism

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Invented in 1828 by William Nicol (1770–1851) of Edinburgh.

noun Nicol prisms

An optical device used to generate polarized light. “You are in mortal danger,” declared their Scientific Officer, Dr. Counterfly, a scholarly sort, bearded and bundled like the rest of them, his eyes concealed by a pair of ingenious goggles, whose lenses proved to be matched pairs of Nicol prisms which could be rotated so as to control precisely the

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MLA

"Nicol prism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nicol%20prism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Nicol prism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nicol%20prism

Chicago

"Nicol prism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nicol%20prism.

BibTeX

@misc{nicol_prism_2026,
  title = {Nicol prism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nicol%20prism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}