Dispersion (Oxford AQA IGCSE Physics)

Dispersion

• White light is a mixture of all the colours of the spectrum:

  • Red

  • Orange

  • Yellow

  • Green

  • Blue

  • Indigo

  • Violet

The spectrum of visible light

• Each colour has a different frequency and wavelength, making up the very narrow visible light part of the electromagnetic spectrum

Visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum

• White light is separated into all its colours when it passes through a prism

  • This process is called dispersion

  • Each colour is refracted through the prism by a different amount

  • Violet light is refracted the most, whilst red light is refracted the least

  • This splits up the colours to form a spectrum

• A rainbow is created through dispersion

  • Sunlight is refracted through raindrops which creates a rainbow

Dispersion of light through a prism