nprism

nprism, commonly written as n-prism, refers in geometry to a prism whose bases are regular n-gons. A typical n-prism consists of two congruent, parallel bases connected by n quadrilateral lateral faces. If the side faces are rectangles, the solid is a right n-prism; if the side faces are parallelograms, it is an oblique n-prism. In all cases, the solid has 2n vertices and 3n edges.

If the base is a regular n-gon with side length s, the base area is (n/4) s^2 cot(pi/n). The volume is the product of the base area and the perpendicular distance h between the bases. The surface area equals twice the base area plus the lateral area, where the lateral area equals the base perimeter (n s) times the height h.

Common examples include the triangular prism (n = 3) and the hexagonal prism (n = 6). The square prism (n = 4) is often encountered in basic geometry and, when the height matches the base edge length, may resemble a cube in particular configurations.

In contexts outside pure geometry, the term n-prism can appear as an acronym or project name unrelated to prisms. Such uses are context-dependent and should be interpreted within their specific domain.

See also: Prism (geometry).