Name: Primary Colours of Light
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 5 min 33 s
Description: Did you know that certain colours are more important than the others? Also, certain colours can be derived using the others! This video explains why.

Question

Explain the dispersion of white light by a glass prism with a labelled diagram.

Accepted Answer

White light dispersion occurs because, as they pass through a prism, different colours of light bend through different angles with respect to the incident ray. The red light bends the least while the violet bends most as shown below.

When white light is made to pass through a prism, a spectrum of seven colours is formed which shows that white light is a mixture of seven different colours. Prism only acts as a medium for the separation of the seven colours. When light falls on the glass prism, refraction takes place. Since the wavelength of different components of light is different and the frequency is constant, each component gets deviated by a different angle due to the difference in velocity in the glass medium. The red colour having the maximum wavelength deviates the least and forms the upper part of the spectrum whereas violet having the least wavelength deviates the most.

Explain the dispersion of white light by a glass prism with a labelled diagram.

Important Questions on The Human Eye and The Colourful World

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