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I've been working on a lighting project that requires some light diffusers and after searching around I keep seeing people recommend something called Perspex. My only problem is that I can't seem to find this material anywhere. I'm in the US, does it go by another name here? Is it easy to obtain and where?

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Home Depot has frosted acrylic sheets. The product description mentions that it's an excellent light diffuser.

According to Wikipedia's article on PMMA, Perspex is a brand name of the same (general) material.

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I went to Home Depot and bought something similar, a Plaskolite Acrylic Sheet - Cracked Ice. This diffused the correct amount, the only issue is that it had a rather annoying texture to it. Perhaps I'll go back and look for a frosted acrylic sheet. I wonder if it would be very heavy. – William Nov 17 '10 at 20:19
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Perspex is a brand name, but I've most often heard the name used by British English speakers. A similar product is Plexiglas which is also a brand name. In the US, people use the word "Plexiglas" generically and I believe that's true of the word "Perspex" in Great Britain. If you go into Home Depot in the US and ask for Perspex you're likely to get a quizzical look. If you ask for Plexiglas, you may not get that brand, but they'll know what you're talking about.

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