Prismatic surface

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A prismatic surface is a surface generated by all the lines that are parallel to a given line and intersect a broken line that is not in the same plane as the given line. The broken line is the directrix of the surface; the parallel lines are its generators (or elements). If the broken line is close (i.e. a closed polygon), then the surface is a closed prismatic surface.

With regards to crystallography, a prismatic surface is a single face of a prismatic form, which is an open form consisting of 3,4 or 6 identical faces related by a symmetry operator.

See also: prism