Dispersion of White Light by a Glass Prism

The process of splitting of white light into its constituent colours when it is passed through a transparent
medium is known as Dispersion.

Experiment to Show the Re-composition of White Light

PRODUCTION OF PURE SPECTRUM

Formation of a Rainbow
The small droplets of rain water which remain suspended in air just after the rains act like a prism. When
sunlight passes through these drops of rainwater, it gets dispersed and we see the seven colors of the
rainbow

COLOURS OF OBJECTS
Colour may be defined as the visual sensation which depends upon the wavelength or frequency of the
light that enters the eye.

Primary and Secondary Colors

1. Red,
2. Green
3. Blue

A color resulting from the mixing of two primary colors are called secondary or composite colors or
subtractive primaries.

Mixing of Colors

Red + Blue = Magenta

Blue + Green = Cyan (Peacock blue)

Red + Green = Yellow

Red + Green + Blue = White

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS

A pair of colors which on mixing produce white are called complementary colors.

Colour of object on which light Reflected ray (which one sees) Absorbed rays
is incident
Red Red Green, blue
Blue Blue Red, green
Green Green Red, blue
Cyan Green, blue Red
Magenta Red, blue Green
Yellow Red, green Blue

COLOUR MIXING PIGMENTS