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Question
Describe how you could demonstrate that white light is composed of a number of colours.
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Solution
We can show that white light is composed of a number of colours by passing it through a transparent glass prism. A glass prism is a triangular refracting surface. When a beam of white light enters the prism, the light splits, forming a band of seven colours on a screen placed on the other side of the prism. This splitting of light into its constituent colours is called the dispersion of light. The formation of seven colours in a spectrum shows that white light is composed of these seven colours, namely, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
RELATED QUESTIONS
A student traces the path of a ray of light through a triangular glass prism for different values of angle of incidence. On analyzing the ray diagrams, which one of the following conclusions is he likely to draw?
(A) The emergent ray is parallel to the incident ray.
(B) The emergent ray bends at an angle to the direction of the incident ray.
(C) The emergent ray and the refracted ray are at right angles to each other.
(D) The emergent ray is perpendicular to the incident ray.
Study the following figure in which a student has marked the angle of incidence (∠i), angle of refraction (∠r), angle of emergence (∠e), angle of prism (∠A) and the angle of deviation (∠D). The correctly marked angles are
(a) ∠A and ∠i
(b) ∠A, ∠i and ∠r
(c) ∠A, ∠i, ∠e and ∠D
(d) ∠A, ∠i, ∠r and ∠D
What happens when a ray of ordinary light is passed through a triangular glass prism?
Draw a diagram to show the refraction of light through a glass prism. On this diagram, mark
(i) incident ray
(ii) emergent ray, and
(iii) angle of deviation.
Which of the following colour of white light is least deviated by the prism?
(a) green
(b) violet
(c) indigo
(d) yellow
The diagram below shows the path taken by a narrow beam of yellow monochromatic light passing through an equiangular glass prism. If the yellow light is replaced by a narrow beam of white light incident at the same angle, draw another diagram to show the passage of white light through the prism and label it to show the effect of prism on the white light.
The splitting of white light into its component colours is called ____________.
State True or False:
"Wavelength of red light is close to 700 nm.”
Observe the given diagram and answer the questions:
- Name the process shown in the figure.
- Name the colour that deviates the most.
- Name the colour that deviates the least.
- Name any one phenomenon in nature which is based on the above process.
- Define ‘spectrum’.
