Refraction Through A Prism And Dispersion Ray Optics And Optical Instruments

Refraction Through a Prism and Dispersion

  • Refraction:
  • Light bends when it passes from one medium to another.
  • The amount of bending depends on the refractive index of the media.
  • Prism:
  • A transparent object with two non-parallel faces inclined at an angle.
  • Light rays passing through a prism get refracted twice, once when entering the prism and once when exiting.
  • Refractive Index:
    • The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to its speed in a medium.
  • The higher the refractive index, the more the light is bent.
  • Angle of Refraction:
  • The angle between the incident ray and the refracted ray.
  • The angle of refraction is determined by the refractive indices of the media and the angle of incidence.
  • Angle of Deviation:
  • The angle between the incident ray and the emergent ray.
  • Minimum Deviation:
  • The smallest angle of deviation for a ray passing through a prism occurs at a specific angle of incidence.
  • Dispersion:
  • The spreading out of light into its component colors.
  • The refractive index of a medium depends on the wavelength of light.
  • As a result, different wavelengths of light bend by different amounts when passing through a prism, causing the light to spread out into a spectrum.
  • Refractive Index and Wavelength:
  • The refractive index of a medium is dependent on the wavelength of light.
  • Shorter wavelengths (blue light) bend more than longer wavelengths (red light).
  • Prismatic Spectrum:
  • The spectrum of colors formed when light passes through a prism, which includes the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.


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