Why do the colors of the rainbow come out of a prism?

Answer 1

A rainbow results only when "white light" shines through it. White light is a combination of light of many different wavelengths (we see different wavelengths as different colors). Each wavelength is refracted (bended) at a slightly different angle, separating the different colors for us to see.

Answer 2

what we see as white is actually a mixture of colors.

for instance the "white" screen in front of you now (the TV screen) is actually a mix of red, green, and blue dots (get a magnifing glass and take a look)

the white of sunlight is made up of many colors

and as a ray of white light strikes a piece of glass, the ray is bent.

each color (wavelenght) is bent a slightly different amount

a prism bends the light twice (once coming in, once going out)

and so the component colors are displayed to the viewer.

Answer 3

A rainbow is created from a prism when the prism is held up to light. As the light enters the prism it slows down and separates out into it's different wave lengths which can be seen as the different band of colour in a rainbow.

Answer 4

Colors show because when light hits a prism, that prism will absorb some light but not all light. The remaining light enters through the prism and the prism reflects the light, causing a rainbow!

Answer 5

White light is all of the visible color light mixed together. When the white light passes through a prism the white light is separated into the individual colors.

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White is not at all a colour. It is a composite of many colours. Each colour is having its own frequency. But white does not have any definite frequency.

More over different frequency would have a different speed in denser medium such as glass. Hence as composite light enters into the glass prism, each colour would traverse at different speed and so they get deviated at different angles. So they get separated when they come out of prism. This phenomenon is known as dispersion.

In case of rectangular slab the same phenomenon of dispersion takes place. But glass slab is made up of two prisms joined together with inverted position. So the dispersion is nullified when it totally comes out of the slab.

Answer 6

Prisms slow down the speed of light. :)