5 Example Of Prism: Detailed Explanations

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Tis article discusses about example of prism. We will not be limiting our discussion to optical prisms only which are used to refract light, but in later sections we will also discuss about regular non optical prisms.

A phenomenon of light in which it changes its path of travel after passing through a medium of different refractive index. This phenomenon is called as refraction of light. A prism is one such example of medium which has a different refractive index than air and hence is used to change the direction of light.

Example of rectangular prism

A rectangular prism also called as cuboid is a geometrical structure defined by three quantites, that are- length, breadth and height.

The examples of rectangular prism are given below-

  • Book- A book has all the three– Height, length and breadth. Hence it can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Cupboard– A cupboard may have many shapes but cupboard having a rectangular cross section can be considered as rectangular prism. It has all the three- height, length and breadth.
  • Bottle of cuboidal shape– A cuboidal shaped bottle will have length, breadth and height with a rectangular cross section. Hence it can be said to be a rectangular prism.
  • Buildings– Buildings most commonly have a rectangular cross section and fulfil all the requirements of a rectangular prism.
  • Cuboidal bar– A cuboidal bar satisfies all the requirements of a rectangular prism that it has a rectangular cirss section, length, breadth and height.
  • Deck of cards– Deck of cards can be considered as a rectangular prism as it has all the properties of a rectangular prism. An individual card makes the depth of the deck.
  • Mobile phones– Usually the mobiles have a rectangular cross section. They can be considered as rectangular prism.
  • Water tank– A water tank usually has a rectangular cross section and can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Laptop– A laptop when in closed condition can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Canvas board– A canvas board has a rectangular cross section and satisfies all the requirements of a rectangular prism and hence it can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Living room– Living room or in that case any room can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Door– A rectangular door meets all the requirements of a rectangular prism and can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Bed– Usually the beds are cuboidal in shape. Cuboidal beds are considered as rectangular prism.
  • Mobile charger– A mobile chargers adaptor can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Blackboard– Blackboard has everything a rectangular prism needs that is length, breadth and depth. Hence it can be considered as a rectangular prism.
  • Containers– Rectangular containers can be considered as rectangular prism.

Examples of triangular prism

Triangular prism is that type of prism which has a triangular cross section. For a prismatic structure to be triangular, it should have atleast two triangular faces and three rectangular faces.

example of prism
Image: Triangular prism

Image Credits: D-Kuru, Prism-side-fs PNr°0117, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT

The examples of triangular prism are give below-

  • Tent– A camping tent is an example of triangular prism because it has two triangular faces and three rectangular faces.
  • A piece of pizza pie– A piece of pizza pie is nearly a triangular prism as it has a triangular cross section.
  • A piece of apple pie– Similar to pizza pie, a piece of apple pie also resembles a triangular prism.
  • A piece of water melon- When we cut a slice of watermelon from centre, then it resembles a triangular prism.
  • A piece of cake– A cake slice when cut from its centre resembles to a triangular prism.
  • A piece of cheese block– A cheese block when cut from its center resembles a triangular prism.
  • Optical prism– An optical prism is used to refract light. When it has a triangular cross section, it can be considered as a triangular prism.
  • A house shaped like triangular prism– Generally wooden houses have a triangular cross section. It can be considered as a triangular prism.

Example of pentagonal prism

A pentagonal prism is slightly different from a conventional prism. It has five sides at the top and bottom faces. A pentagonal prism can be said that it is an extruded version of a pentagon (Shape having five sides with equal interior angles)

The examples of pentagonal prism are given below-

  • Pentagon Headquarters at USA– The Pentagon HQ at USA is a builidng having five sides of equal length. This is a perfect example of pentagonal prism.
  • A pentagonal rubix cube- A rubix cube with five equal sides is a pentagonal prism.
  • A container having pentagonal cross section- A tiffin box or a container having a pentagonal cross section is considered as a pentagonal prism.
  • A pentagonal nut– A nut having five sides of equal length is considered as a pentagonal prism.
  • A gift box with five sides- A gift box having five sides of equal length is considered as pentagonal prism.
  • Optical prism with five sides– An optical prism is used to refract light, when the prism has five sides, it can be said to be a pentagonal prism.
  • Buildings with five sides– A building having five sides instead of four can be considered as a pentagonal prism.

Example of Hexagonal prism

Hexagonal prisms are similar to pentagonal prism with the only difference being the number of sides in the cross section. A hexagonal prism has six number of sides in its cross section.

The examples of hexagonal prism are given below-

  • Residential buildings having six sides- Residential buildings with six sides of equal length are considered as hexagonal prism.
  • A gift box having six sides- A gift box which has six sides will be considered as hexagonal prism.
  • A hexagonal nut– A nut usually has six sides of equal length. It can be said to be a hexagonal prism.
  • Honey comb structure– Honeycomb structure is made by stacking multiple hexagons together. These hexagons are nothing but small hexagonal prisms.
  • Trusses– A truss is a support structure made using cylindrical bars. When these trusses are arranged in a shape of hexagon, the structure can be said to be hexagonal prism.
  • Hexagonal optical prism- An optical prism is used for refracting light, when it has a hexagonal cross section then it can be said to be a hexagonal prism.
  • Wooden pencils– Wooden pencils have hexagonal cross section for a better grip. Hence penciles can be said to be hexagnal prism.

Example of Square prism

A square prism is similar to a rectangular prism. The primary difference between a sqaure prism and rectangular prism is that length of each side is same for a square prism.

The examples of square prism are given below-

  • Buildings with square cross sections– A building having a square cross section with same measurements of length breadth and depth can be said to be a building that is also a square prism.
  • An optical prism having four equal sides– An optical prism used for refracting light can be considered as a square prism if it has equal length breadth and depth.
  • A bottle with square cross section– A bottle with a square cross section and equal measurements of length breadth and height is considered as a square prism.
  • A cupboard with square cross section– A cupboard with square cross section and of same height as that of length and breadth is considered as a square prism.
  • A water bottle with square cross section– A water bottle having a square cross section and same height as that of length and breadth is considered as square prism.
  • A square tiffin box– A square tiffin box with same length breadth and height is considered as a sqaure prism.
  • Deodorant box– A compact deodorant box can be considered as a square prism if all the sides have equal lengths.
  • Cooler packaging– A cooler packaging box has equal lengths, it can be considered as a square prism.
  • Refrigerator packaging box– A double door refrigerator can be considered as a square prism as it has same measurement of length breadth and height.
  • A pen stand- A pen stand has same length breadth and depth. It can be considered as a square prism.
  • A square container– A square container has a square cross section and equal length breadth and height, hence it can be considered as a square prism.

What is refraction?

As discussed in above section, it is the phenomenon in which the direction of light is changed when passed from one media to another.

The change in direction occurs due to different refractive indices of the two mediums through which light is travelling. Fro example, when the light passes through a prism then the direction of travel changes and gets refracted. We shall study about refractive index in the later sections of this article.

What is refractive index?

Refractive index of a material is the measure of solute present in an aqueous solution. It is also a measure of how the light wll change its speed and direction after passing through a media with different refractive index.

The refractive index of vacuum is considered as 1. Glasses and other materials will have refractive indices more than one meaning that the speed of light will be lesser in those media than the speed of light in vacuum.

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