National Museum of American History
Variable Angle Prism
Cauchoix, Robert Aglae
This container with brass sides and glass ends, supported on a brass stand, shows that different liquids refract light in different ways. When the glass ends are set to different angles, it shows that the angle of deviation increases with the refracting angle of the prism. This was purchased for the U.S. Military Academy in 1829. The “Cauchoix à Paris” inscription refers to the instrument maker, Robert-Aglae Cauchoix (1776-1845).
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