Question

why do different components of white light deviates through different angles when passing through a rectangular glass prism?

Answer 1

Hi Anjali!

When a composite light passes through a prism, the constituent colours get dispersed. The light rays undergo refraction at the air- glass interface. The deviation for different constituent colours is different as the wavelengths of different colours are different. So, the light splits up into its constituent colours.

Cheers!!