Question

Question 29
Explain the phenomenon of dispersion of white light through a glass prism, using suitable ray diagram.

Answer 1

Dispersion: The splitting of white light into its constituent colours is called dispersion. The colour sequence is given by the acronym V I B G Y O R - Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. This colour pattern is called Dispersion which occurs because refraction or bending differs with the colour. The speed of light of different colours in a medium like glass, water etc. is different. Varying speed for different colours leads to different refractive indices for different colours. It has been observed that the refractive index of glass for violet colour is more than that for red colour. The speed of light, however, is the same for all colours in free space or vacuum.