Nicol Prism Polarimeter

Signature

Unsigned

Location

Date

Late 1800s

Dimensions

English

Metric

Extended Length

12.5in

318mm

Height

8.0in

203mm

Base Length

12.0in

305mm

Description

One of the earliest known polarizer types was the calcite Nicol prism, invented in 1828. This polariscope originally contained two Nicol prisms, one for generating an incident polarization onto a sample and a second for analyzing the state of polarization transmitted by the sample. This type of polariscope was invented in the mid 1800’s and was common well into the 20th century for analyzing crystal structure and other applications.

College of Optical Sciences
The University of Arizona, 1630 East University Boulevard, Tucson, Arizona U.S.A. 85721-0094