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glossary
Prism: optical component made of a refractive medium in between two unparallel and polished plane surfaces
Refraction index: for a transparent medium, ratio between the light speed in the air and the light speed in the medium ; for a reflective surface in the air or vacuum, the refraction index is « - 1 »
Angle of incidence: angle of a light ray incident on a surface with the normal to the surface
Total deviation ( prism ): angular deviation of a light ray after refraction by a prism
Minimum deviation ( prism ): for a prism, minimum angle possible between incident and refracted light rays
Total reflection: reflection of light by a surface separating two transparent media and during which all the light is reflected; phenomenon only possible if the refractive index of the incident medium is larger than that of the emerging medium and if the angle of incidence is larger than a certain value
