Question

A prism splits a beam of white light into seven colours because different colours have different

Answer 1

Angle of deviation

1. The change of direction when light passes from one medium to another is called the deviation of light.
2. The angle between the path it would have taken if there was no change in medium and the new path is called the angle of deviation.
3. A prism is a triangular solid made of glass.
4. When light passes through a prism, it deviates when it enters the prism and it deviates again when it exits the prism.
5. The angle at which light enters the prism is called the angle of incidence.
6. The angle at which light exits is called the angle of emergence.
7. Different colors have different wavelengths and thus have a different angle of emergence.
8. Since they have different angles of emergence, they exit the prism in slightly different directions and thus get separated.

Hence, a prism splits a beam of light into seven colors because they have different wavelengths.