Question

Explain how refraction and prisms work.

Answer 1

A prism is a piece of glass or plastic in the shape of a triangle. A prism works because the different colors of light travel at different speeds inside the glass. Because the colors of light travel at different speeds, they get bent by different amounts and come out all spread out instead of mixed up.


Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where its speed is different. The refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. Refraction is responsible for image formation by lenses and the eye.