The splitting of different colours of light in a prism is :
(1) Reflection of light
(2) Dispersion of light
(3) Diffraction of light
(4) Refraction of light
Answer: (2) The refractive index of many materials (such as glass) varies with the wavelength or colour of the light used, a phenomenon is known as dispersion. This causes the light of different colours to be refracted differently and to leave the prism at different angles, creating an effect similar to a rainbow. In optics, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency, or alternatively when the group velocity depends on the frequency. Media having such a property are termed dispersive media. Dispersion is sometimes called chromatic dispersion to emphasize its wavelength-dependent nature, or group-velocity dispersion (GVD) to emphasize the role of the group.
