A Nicol prism is a type of

polarizer A polarizer or polariser is an optical filter that lets light waves of a specific polarization pass through while blocking light waves of other polarizations. It can filter a beam of light of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam of wel ...

, an optical device made from

calcite Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scratc ...

crystal used to produce and analyse plane

polarized light Polarization ( also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of t ...

. It is made in such a way that it eliminates one of the rays by

total internal reflection Total internal reflection (TIR) is the optical phenomenon in which waves arriving at the interface (boundary) from one medium to another (e.g., from water to air) are not refracted into the second ("external") medium, but completely reflect ...

, i.e. the ordinary ray is eliminated and only the extraordinary ray is transmitted through the prism. It was the first type of polarizing prism, invented in 1828 by William Nicol (1770–1851) of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. It consists of a rhombohedral crystal of Iceland spar (a variety of

) that has been cut at an angle of 68° with respect to the crystal axis, cut again diagonally, and then rejoined as shown, using a layer of transparent Canada balsam as a glue. Unpolarized light ray enters through the left face of the crystal, as shown in the diagram, and is split into two orthogonally polarized, differently directed rays by the

birefringence Birefringence is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. These optically anisotropic materials are said to be birefringent (or birefractive). The birefri ...

property of calcite. The ''ordinary'' ray, or ''o''-ray, experiences a

refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, ...

of ''n''_o = 1.658 in the calcite and undergoes a

at the calcite–glue interface because of its angle of incidence at the glue layer (refractive index ''n'' = 1.550) exceeds the

critical angle Critical angle may refer to: *Critical angle (optics), the angle of incidence above which total internal reflection occurs *Critical angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference lin ...

for the interface. It passes out the top side of the upper half of the prism with some

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomen ...

, as shown. The ''extraordinary'' ray, or ''e''-ray, experiences a lower refractive index (''n''_e = 1.486) in the calcite crystal and is not totally reflected at the interface because it strikes the interface at a sub-critical angle. The ''e''-ray merely undergoes a slight

, or bending, as it passes through the interface into the lower half of the prism. It finally leaves the prism as a ray of

plane-polarized light Polarization ( also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of t ...

, undergoing another refraction, as it exits the far right side of the prism. The two exiting rays have polarizations

orthogonal In mathematics, orthogonality is the generalization of the geometric notion of '' perpendicularity''. By extension, orthogonality is also used to refer to the separation of specific features of a system. The term also has specialized meanings in ...

(at right angles) to each other, but the lower, or ''e''-ray, is the more commonly used for further experimentation because it is again traveling in the original horizontal direction, assuming that the calcite prism angles have been properly cut. The direction of the upper ray, or ''o''-ray, is quite different from its original direction because it alone suffers

at the

glue Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...

interface, as well as a final refraction on exit from the upper side of the prism. Nicol prisms were once widely used in mineralogical

microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...

and polarimetry, and the term "using crossed Nicols" (abbreviated as XN) is still used to refer to the observing of a sample placed between orthogonally oriented polarizers. In most instruments, however, Nicol prisms have been replaced by other types of polarizers such as

Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...

sheets and

Glan–Thompson prism A Glan–Thompson prism is a type of polarizing prism similar to the Nicol and Glan–Foucault prisms. Design A Glan–Thompson prism consists of two right-angled calcite prisms that are cemented together by their long faces. The optical axe ...

References

{{reflist 1828 in science Microscopy Optical materials Polarization (waves) Prisms (optics) Scottish inventions