Accession No
1912
Brief Description
prism and stand by Newton & Co., late 19th C
Origin
London; England
Maker
Newton & Co
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1870
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
glass; metal (brass, silver); plastic; cloth (felt)
Dimensions
length 175mm; breadth 100mm; height 350mm
Special Collection
Cavendish collection
Provenance
Transferred from the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge in 09/1974.
Inscription
‘NEWTON & CO. LONDON’
Description Notes
Glass 120˚ prism, mounted in brass. Brass plates cover ends and base, the latter being silvered on the inside. Prism held in fork mount by screws from sides and clamped by two knurled screws. Fork rotates on brass pillar stand, height adjustable, clamp with knurled screw. Turned brass base, with plastic and felt beneath.
Condition
References
Events
Description
Prism
A prism consists of a translucent piece of glass or crystal, usually triangular in cross section, which is used to separate light into a spectrum of its separate colours.
The instrument works because different wavelengths of light are refracted (bent) by different amounts as they enter and leave the prism; the shorter wavelengths (towards the blue end of the spectrum) are refracted by the greatest amount, and the longer wavelengths (towards the red end) are refracted the least. This spreads out normal white light, which is a mixture of all the different colours, into its constituent parts and produces the rainbow effect of a spectrum.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson on 18/10/2002
FM:43403
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