prism

In geometry, a prism is a polyhedron comprising an polygon base, a second base which is a translated copy (rigidly moved without rotation) of the first, and other faces, necessarily all parallelograms, joining corresponding sides of the two bases. All cross-sections parallel to the bases are translations of the bases. Prisms are named after their bases, e.g. a prism with a pentagonal base is called a pentagonal prism. Prisms are a subclass of prismatoids. Like many basic geometric terms, the word prism was first used in Euclid's Elements. Euclid defined the term in Book XI as “a solid figure contained by two opposite, equal and parallel planes, while the rest are parallelograms”. However, this definition has been criticized for not being specific enough in relation to the nature of the bases, which caused confusion among later geometry writers. Oblique vs right An oblique prism is a prism in which the joining edges and faces are not perpendicular to the base faces. Example: a parallelepiped is an oblique prism whose base is a parallelogram, or equivalently a polyhedron with six parallelogram faces.