A beam splitter or beamsplitter is an optical device that splits a beam of light into a transmitted and a reflected beam. It is a crucial part of many optical experimental and measurement systems, such as interferometers, also finding widespread application in fibre optic telecommunications. Designs In its most common form, a cube, a beam splitter is made from two triangular glass prisms which are glued together at their base using polyester, epoxy, or urethane-based adhesives. (Before these synthetic resins, natural ones were used, e.g. Canada balsam.) The thickness of the resin layer is adjusted such that (for a certain wavelength) half of the light incident through one "port" (i.e., face of the cube) is reflected and the other half is transmitted due to FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection). Polarizing beam splitters, such as the Wollaston prism, use birefringent materials to split light into two beams of orthogonal polarization states. Another design is the use of a half-silvered mirror. This is composed of an optical substrate, which is often a sheet of glass or plastic, with a partially transparent thin...

Vasavadatta is also a character in the Svapnavasavadatta and the Vina-Vasavadatta Vasavadatta (Sanskrit: वासवदत्ता, Vāsavadattā) is a classical Sanskrit romantic tale (akhyayika) written in an ornate style by Subandhu, whose time period isn't precisely known. He is generally taken to have written the work in the second quarter of the seventh century. However, scholar Maan Singh has stated that he was a courtier of the Gupta emperors Kumaragupta I (414-455) and Skandagupta (455-467), dating him between 385 and 465 AD.The work's style has been described as "developed, elaborate, ornate and pedantic" and has influenced later prose writers. The Kanchanadarpana of Sivarama Tripathin (18th century) and the Tattvadipini of Jagaddhara are two significant works of criticism and commentary on the Vasavadatta. Louis Herbert Gray first translated Vasavadatta into English, which was published by the Columbia University Press in 1913 as the eighth volume of the...

Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) is a medium-sized bird species of the family Trochilidae. It was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. It is native to western coastal regions of North America. In the early 20th century, Anna's hummingbirds bred only in northern Baja California and Southern California. The transplanting of exotic ornamental plants in residential areas throughout the Pacific coast and inland deserts provided expanded nectar and nesting sites, allowing the species to expand its breeding range. Year-round residence of Anna's hummingbirds in the Pacific Northwest is an example of ecological release dependent on acclimation to colder winter temperatures, introduced plants, and human provision of nectar feeders during winter. These birds feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendable tongue. They also consume small insects and other arthropods caught in flight or gleaned from vegetation. Taxonomy Anna's hummingbird was formally described and illustrated in 1829 by the French naturalist René Lesson in his Histoire...