Question

How does a prism split white light into a rainbow?

Answer 1

White light is a mix of all the colours that we know, from the violet to red, which means that is formed by a range of wavelengths (from 400nm to approximately 700nm). Where the colors violet and blue have a smaller wavelength and colors like red have a longer wavelength

Also, light travels at a different speed depending on the medium in which it is found, this is because of the index of refraction of the material.

In a prism, light will travel slower than in the air, and the different wavelengths travel at different speeds.

As light passes through the prism, light with a longer wavelength (red) travels faster than light with a shorter wavelength (violet) this speed difference causes light to break down into the color spectrum.

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

DECOMPOSITION OF LIGHT:

Descartes explained the formation of the rainbow and years later Newton studied the light and managed to break it down into the colors of its spectrum through a prism year 1666.

Newton knew very little about the nature of light, did not know that it was a wave and even less that it was an electromagnetic wave. He believed that it was formed by corpuscles, but he managed to break it down into its spectral colors. Today we know that light is both particle and wave.

Humans (and some animals) appreciate a wide range of colors that are usually due to the mixture of radiation (lights) of different wavelengths. The color of light with a single wavelength or a narrow band of them is known as pure color.

When the light passes through a glass prism, the different wavelengths that make up the light beam travel inside it at different speeds and curl differently when entering and leaving (double refraction when changing media) giving as result a beam diverted from the initial direction and with its separate components. Thus arises the solar spectrum.

Each of the different rays of light crosses the glass with different velocity and the average speed of light within the prism is less than in a vacuum. Light is a wave with an oscillating electric field that interferes with the charged particles in matter.

The visible radiations are between the following wavelengths: from 350 nm (nanometers) for violet to 750 nm for red.