Final answer:
White light is separated into a spectrum of colors through dispersion when refracted in a prism because each color's wavelength interacts differently with the prism's material, causing varying degrees of bending due to the refractive index.
Step-by-step explanation:
White light splits into the colors of the spectrum when it is refracted due to a process known as dispersion. As white light enters a prism, its different colors are bent by different amounts because each color has a different wavelength and, consequently, a different refractive index when interacting with the material of the prism. This separation of white light into its component colors occurs because the refractive index varies with the wavelength; the shorter the wavelength, the greater the refraction. Therefore, blue and violet light, which have shorter wavelengths, are bent more than red light, which has a longer wavelength. The sequence of colors, ranging from red to violet, is aligned side by side to form a spectrum, similar to a rainbow, when this refracted light is projected onto a screen.