Foucault pendulum with a 67-m-long wire from the dome of the Panthéon, Paris. The plane of the pendulum's swing rotated clockwise approximately 11.3° per hour, making a full circle in approximately 31.8 hours. The original bob used in 1851 at the Panthéon was moved in 1855 to the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris. A second temporary installation was made for the 50th anniversary in 1902. During museum reconstruction in the 1990s, the original pendulum was temporarily displayed at the Panthéon (1995), but was later returned to the Musée des Arts et Métiers before it reopened in 2000. On April 6,
Glan–Foucault prism Glan–Foucault prism A Glan–Foucault prism (also called a Glan–air prism) is a type of prism which is used as a polarizer. It is similar in construction to a Glan–Thompson prism, except that two right-angled calcite prisms are spaced with an air gap instead of being cemented together. Total internal reflection of "p"-polarized light at the air gap means that only "s"-polarized light is transmitted straight through the prism. Compared to the Glan–Thompson prism, the Glan–Foucault has a narrower acceptance angle over which it works, but because it uses an air gap rather than cement, much higher irradiances can be used