Teacher’s Notes

This sequence of slides is designed to introduce, and explain

dispersion by a prism to produce a spectrum, as explained on
pages 210-211 in Physics for You, 5th edition.
(or pages 206-7 in GCSE Physics for You, 2011 edition).

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Dispersion by a prism

Physics for You, 5th edition,

pages 210 - 211
Learning Objectives

You should learn :

• How a light ray is deviated by a prism,

• How white light is dispersed by a prism,

• The colours of a white light spectrum,

• About the wavelengths of different colours.

Here is a glass
prism:

A ray of white light arrives

What happens to the ray of light?
It is (mainly) reflected or refracted ?
away from or towards
the normal the normal
But different colours are refracted by different
angles.
In fact, the ray is :

• devi ated (bent through an angle), and

• dispersed (split up into separate colours)
like this.
 R
What happens now? V
screen
Red is deviated most
least/ least ?
Violet is deviated most
most/ least ?
 R
There is a spectrum
V
on the screen: screen

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

ROY G BIV
What is the real difference
between red and violet light ?
4 mm
10 000 wavelength

violet

red

7 mm
10 000
Learning Outcomes
You should now:
• Understand what happens when white light
enters a prism,
• Distinguish between deviation and dispersion,
• Know the colours of the spectrum, in order,
• Understand the connection between colour and
wavelength.
For more details, see:

 Physics for You, 5th edition, pages 210 - 211

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