Teachers Notes

This sequence of slides is designed to introduce, and explain dispersion by a prism to produce a spectrum, as explained on page 206 in New GCSE Physics for You, 2006 & 2011 editions. (or page 216 in GCSE Physics for You, 2001 edition).
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Dispersion by a prism
New Physics for You, pages 206 207

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

away refracted ? from the normal

or

towards the normal

But different colours are refracted by different angles.

In fact, the ray is : devi ate (bent through an angle), d and dispersed (split up into separate colours) like this.

R What happens now? Red is deviatedleast most / least ? Violet is deviated most most / least ?
scree n

R There is a spectrum on the screen:

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet scree n

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: New Physics for You, page 206 207

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