3. July 2005 web site: www.ktaggart.com 3
The cause of dispersion
• Dispersion occurs because different colours
of light travel at slightly different speeds
through transparent substances.
• In glass, perspex and water red travels
quickest, violet slowest.
4. 4
Dispersion with a prism
•Violet is deviated the most
•Red is deviated the least
5. 5
The spectrum of white light
The numbers are the wavelengths
of the colours in nanometres
where 1 nanometre = 0.000 000 001m.
8. 8
Question 1
Choose appropriate words to fill the gaps in the
paragraph below:
• ____________ occurs when white light is split up into a
____________ by the process of refraction.
• In glass violet light travels more __________ than the
other colours and so is deviated the _________.
• The spectrum consists of red, ________, __________,
_________, ________, indigo and _________.
• A __________ is formed when water causes dispersion.
9. 9
Question 2
Explain why
a) orange light is deviated less than blue light in a prism,
b) we know that indigo light travels slower than green
light through water,
c) there are seven colours in the spectrum list.