Nicol's prism , Nicol prism Meaning, Definition & Usage

Definitions

1. . So called from Wm. Nicol, of Edinburgh, who first proposed it. (Opt.) An instrument for experiments in polarization, consisting of a rhomb of Iceland spar, which has been bisected obliquely at a certain angle, and the two parts again joined with transparent cement, so that the ordinary image produced by double refraction is thrown out of the field by total reflection from the internal cemented surface, and the extraordinary, or polarized, image alone is transmitted.