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Glite Dictionary
biprism

biprism

1 9.9
A glass prism that splits a beam of light to make light and dark bands
  • noun
  • /ˈbaɪˌprɪzəm/
  • Specialized
: biprism
  • After adjusting the setup, the biprism successfully produced clear interference fringes.

Examples

  • The scientist used a biprism to create interference patterns in the laboratory.

  • The charged wire acts like a Fresnel biprism, producing two slightly converging beams; the angular deviation on either side of the wire is independent of the impact parameter b.

    Academic text (1993)

  • In her optics experiment, she demonstrated how a biprism can split light into two beams.

Surface Forms

biprism singular
biprisms plural

Morphology

biprism = prism (transparent) = bi + prism

The meaning is directly derived from the productive prefix 'bi-' meaning 'two' combined with 'prism' to indicate a two-part or two-angled prism used to split light.

Etymology

The word biprism comes from bi- ('two') and prism (a glass that bends light), just like bicycle means 'two wheels'. A biprism is a prism with two parts that split a beam of light to make interference patterns, so the name tells you it is a 'two' prism used to split light.