Nicol prism

[ nik-uhl ]

/ ˈnɪk əl /

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noun Optics.

one of a pair of prisms used to produce and analyze plane-polarized light in a polarizing microscope.

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Also called Nicol .

Compare polarizer (def. 1).

Origin of Nicol prism

First recorded in 1870–75; named after William Nicol (1768–1851), British physicist, its inventor

Words nearby Nicol prism

Nicolay, Nicole, Nicolet, Nicolette, Nicolle, Nicol prism, Nicolson, Nicomedia, Nicosia, Nicostratus, nicotiana

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Nicol prism in a sentence

Now I put in the lantern another instrument called a "Nicol prism."
Scientific American Supplement, No. 467, December 13, 1884|Various
A Nicol prism large enough to embrace the entire beam of the electric lamp was placed between the lamp and the experimental tube.
Six Lectures on Light|John Tyndall
It may be utterly quenched by a Nicol prism, the cloud from which it issues being caused to disappear.
Six Lectures on Light|John Tyndall
We rarely have such a grand specimen of a Nicol prism as this.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 467, December 13, 1884|Various

I may add that the Cypridina light like any other light may be polarized by passing through a Nicol prism.
The Nature of Animal Light|E. Newton Harvey

British Dictionary definitions for Nicol prism

Nicol prism

/ (ˈnɪkəl) /

noun

a device composed of two prisms of Iceland spar or calcite cut at specified angles and cemented together with Canada balsam. It is used for producing plane-polarized light

Word Origin for Nicol prism

C19: named after William Nicol (?1768–1851), Scottish physicist, its inventor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012