Question

What is dispersion of white light? What is the cause of such dispersion? Draw a diagram to show the dispersion of white light by a glass prism.

Answer 1

Hint: Dispersion of light is the splitting of white light into different colors due to the refractive index of the surface and wavelength of light. When white light enters the prism then the emergent beam also has different colors arranged in definite orders.

Complete step by step answer:
Dispersion:
It is the phenomena of the splitting white light into its seven constituent colors. When passed through the prism is known as dispersion.
All the colors travel at the same speed when they travel in Vacuum. But when they pass through a medium, such as a glass prism, the colors bend or refract at different angles, and therefore the speed changes.
Thus they emerge in different, distinct directions which seems like a spectrum to us. Red Color bends the least and violet deviates the most.
In short, we can say that the cause of this splitting of white light into its component colors is due to the different speeds of the colors in the while light. When it hits a particular medium. The Red light bends the least. While the violet bends most is shown below: The diagram for dispersion of white light by a glass prism is shown.

Note:
In optics, Dispersion is the phenomena in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency
Dispersion of light is the splitting while light into its seven constituent colours.