Question

What is a spectrum? Why do different coloured rays deviate differently on passing through a glass prism?

Answer 1

The band of coloured component of a light beam is called its spectrum. The colour sequence is given by the acronym V I B G Y O R — Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. The speed of light of different colours in a medium like glass is different. Varying speeds for different colours lead 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. All the colours present in white light refract through different angles and hence, emerge out from the prism with different directions and become distinct.