Light comes apart
Show on a big screenSunlight looks white. A glass prism shows that sunlight holds many colours.
- White light enters a glass prism.
- The prism bends each colour by its own amount. Violet bends most, red least.
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Tap the colours from least bent to most bent.
The rule
A prism is a glass block with triangle ends. It bends every colour, but not by the same amount. The band of colours is called a spectrum. The splitting itself is dispersion.
A prism splits white light into seven colours. Violet bends the most and red bends the least. This splitting is called dispersion.
A prism bends light toward its base, the thick edge. With the base at the bottom, violet ends up lowest.
The seven colours are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red. The word VIBGYOR helps you remember. Its letters are the first letters of the colours.
Newton put a second prism upside down after the first. The colours joined again into white light.
A rainbow is a natural spectrum. Water drops act like tiny prisms. The Sun is behind you when you see one.
Try the lab to finish this lesson.