1 minute read
Dispersion
by AudioLearn
similar but less index of refraction, making it less “sparkly” when compared to diamonds.
DISPERSION
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Dispersion is what is seen when one looks at a rainbow or at the colors seen in a prism. Six main colors are seen in a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, with indigo sometimes seen. These colors have different wavelengths of light. White light is a mixture of all visible wavelengths. Dispersion can be defined as the spreading of white light into its full spectrum of wavelengths by the process of changing white light’s direction in a manner that depends on wavelength into its full spectrum of wavelengths.
Red has the longest wavelength, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The range is from about 750 nanometers to just under 400 nanometers of wavelength. Figure 140 shows the spectrum of visible light:
Figure 140.
What this means is that the angle of refraction of light depends somewhat on its wavelength so that the n or index of refraction is increased with decreasing wavelength so it is greatest for violet light. This means that violet light will bend more than red light. Figure 141 shows the light bending in a prism:
