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In the figure given below a narrow beam of white light is shown to pass through a triangular glass prism. After passing through the prism it produces a spectrum XY on a screen.(a) State the colour seen at X and Y.(b) Why do different colours of white light bend through different angles with respect to the incident beam of light?"
(a) The colour seen at X - Violet, and Y - Red.
(b) Different colours of white light bend through different angles with respect to the incident beam of light due to differences in the speed of light of different wavelengths.
Explanation
The phenomenon of splitting white light into its components colours (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red) while passing through a prism is known as the Dispersion of light. In the spectrum, red is seen at the top as it has the longest wavelength whereas violet is seen at the bottom of the spectrum as it has the shortest wavelength.
The cause of the dispersion of light through the prism is because white light is a mixture of seven different colours and they get refracted (bend) at different angles in the prism medium due to differences in their speed and wavelengths. So they get separated.