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When a lens refracts different wavelengths at different angles, causing the light in the lens that passes through the edges to be slightly dispersed, this is known as:?

User Alavi
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The technical name was kinda given in the question, and I'm guessing that's what they want: Dispersion. It refers to the phenomenon of different frequencies traveling at different speeds through a medium. This is due to the fact that the relative electric permittivity is a complex quantity that is a function of frequency. The relative electric permittivity,
\epsilon_(r), is related to the speed of the wave in the medium by the relation:

c' = \frac{c}{ \sqrt{ \epsilon_(r) } }
Since this speed is a function of permittivity, and permittivity is a function of frequency, speed is a function of frequency.
Probably more info than you needed....
User Jeremy Dunck
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