Why is a spectrum of colors produced when white light passes through a prism?
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This is a great question! When white light passes through a prism, the prism disperses the light into what is called its constituent colors. Prisms are able to do this when they are transparent and have flat surfaces with some angle between them. When light travel through the air hits the prism, it changes its speed, and is thus enters the prism at a new angle (it's "refracted"). This angle depends on the refractive index of the material in the prism, which can vary with wavelength of light. Wavelength of light in turn, corresponds to different colors of light. So these different colors will travel at different angles in the prism and exit as a "rainbow" or spectrum of colors, rather than as white light.
This is a great question! When white light passes through a prism, the prism disperses the light into what is called its constituent colors. Prisms are able to do this when they are transparent and have flat surfaces with some angle between them. When light travel through the air hits the prism, it changes its speed, and is thus enters the prism at a new angle (it's "refracted"). This angle depends on the refractive index of the material in the prism, which can vary with wavelength of light. Wavelength of light in turn, corresponds to different colors of light. So these different colors will travel at different angles in the prism and exit as a "rainbow" or spectrum of colors, rather than as white light.
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