How prisms produce the VIBGYOR spectrum?

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Detailed Solution

A prism produces the VIBGYOR spectrum by splitting white light into its seven component colors — Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. This process is called dispersion of light.

When white light enters a glass prism, it slows down and bends (refracts) because of the change in medium (from air to glass). Different colors of light bend at different angles because each has a different wavelength. Violet light bends the most, while red light bends the least.

As a result, the colors spread out to form a beautiful band of seven distinct colors on the other side of the prism — the VIBGYOR spectrum.

This experiment was first demonstrated by Sir Isaac Newton, proving that white light is made up of different colors. The prism doesn’t create colors; it only separates the ones already present in white light. This same phenomenon is what makes rainbows appear in the sky after rain.

In short, prisms show that light is a combination of colors — and together, they make up the stunning world we see around us.

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