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Polariscope
From the collection of National Museum of American History. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This polariscope consists of a hollow darkened brass tube (19 inches long) with a mirror at either end that sits on a brass stand (10 inches high). It demonstrates the fact, found by Étienne Malus in 1808, that light can be polarized by reflection. The U.S. Military Academy probably purchased it from Lerebours in Paris in 1830.
National Museum of American History’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit linePolariscope. nineteenth century. National Museum of American History, U.S. Military Academy. CC0.
