Newton's Discovery of Light Spectrum

How many colors are generally agreed upon in the visible spectrum created by white light?

Dispersion occurs because light is absorbed by the prism.

What is the acronym used to remember the order of colors in the spectrum of white light?

A ___________ is a solid shape that can split light into its component colors.

Match the colors of the spectrum with their order:

Which color of light is refracted through the largest angle when passing through a prism?

A rainbow can be formed without sunlight.

What natural phenomena combines light dispersion and reflection to create a rainbow?

Newton's Discovery of Light Spectrum

Newton demonstrated in 1666 that white light is composed of different colours.
He used sunlight passing through a small hole and a triangular prism to split the light.
The resulting colours appeared on a screen.

The Spectrum

The range of colours in white light is called a spectrum.
Colours transition gradually from one to the next within the spectrum.
There are seven colours in the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
The mnemonic "ROY G. BIV" helps remember the order.

Dispersion

Dispersion is the splitting of light into its component colours.
Dispersion occurs due to refraction.
Different colours of light refract at slightly different angles.
A triangular prism demonstrates this phenomenon effectively.
Violet light refracts the most, and red light the least.

Rainbows

Rainbows are formed by light dispersion.
Water droplets in the air disperse light.
Sunlight is reflected from inside the water droplets.
To see a rainbow:
- The sun must be shining.
- Rain or water droplets must be present.
- The observer must be positioned with the sun behind them.

Explore the fascinating findings of Newton regarding the light spectrum. Discover how he used a prism to demonstrate that white light is a combination of various colors. This quiz delves into concepts of dispersion, the color spectrum, and the natural phenomenon of rainbows.