gen-briefly-explain-dispersion-in-a-prism-and-one-common-misconc-eac6

Briefly explain dispersion in a prism and one common misconception about it.

## Dispersion in a Prism **Dispersion** is the separation of white light into its component colors when passing through a prism. This occurs because different wavelengths of light travel at different speeds through the glass—shorter wavelengths (blue/violet) slow down more than longer wavelengths (red), causing them to refract (bend) at slightly different angles. As a result, white light spreads out into a spectrum of colors. ## Common Misconception **The prism adds color to white light** ❌ Many people believe the prism somehow creates or adds colors to the light. In reality, white light already contains all the colors of the spectrum mixed together. The prism doesn't create colors—it simply *separates* the colors that were already present. This was famously demonstrated by Newton, who recombined the separated colors back into white light using a second prism.