Dispersion of light


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Dispersion of Light

We see colours all around us. The blue sky, green leaves, red roses, yellow sunflowers, colourful birds and butterflies, etc., are just some of the colours we see in nature. And then we have the colours of our clothes, pens, pencils, houses, vehicles, and so on. The colours we see depend on the colour of light entering our eyes from an object or a source of light. Different sources of light may produce lights of different colours. A sodium-vapour lamp, for example, produces a yellowish light. The flame of a gas stove emits blue light. But sunlight does not appear to have a colour. The same is true of certain types of bulbs we use at home. We call such light (i.e., those that appear colourless) white light.

Though white light does not appear coloured, it is actually a mixture of lights of different colours present in a definite proportion. Lights of different colours have different wavelengths. So, they behave differently. For example, they travel at different speeds. This makes the refractive index of a transparent material slightly different for different colours of lights. So, lights of different colours bend by different amounts on refraction. Therefore, under certain conditions, when white light gets refracted, its components bend by different amounts and separate out. You must have seen this happen when sunlight passes through a glass of waterfalls on the table or the floor, producing a band of colours. The phenomenon of splitting light into its component colours due to the dependence of refractive index on wavelength is called the dispersion of light.

                                                                                                                                     

Sample Questions
(More Questions for each concept available in Login)
Question : 1

The phenomenon of scattering of light by colloidal particles is known as ________.

 

Right Option : D
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Question : 2

An example of dispersion of light in nature ______________ .

Right Option : A
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Question : 3

When white light is passed through a hollow prism then there is ____________________  .

Right Option : A
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