What happens when white light is passed from air to glass prism?a)Reflects backb)Bends towards normalc)Passes undeviatedd)Bends away from normalCorrect answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

Question

Answer

Light bends towards the normal as the light is passing from a rarer medium to denser medium.

Answer

The light pass from lower density I.e. air to higher density I.e. glass prism hence the light will bends towards the normal.

Answer

When the light travels through the glass, different spectrums of light travel through at different speeds. Spectrums with short wavelengths get slowed down much more than those with longer wavelengths.

When light is slowed as it enters a medium it is refracted. That is, it changes direction. The more it's slowed, the further towards the “normal line” it will go. So slower light will bend more than faster light.

The differences in speed that each spectrum of light has as it passes through the medium causes different angles of refraction, which in turn causes dispersion.

As the light leaves the prism it disperses even more due to the light speeding up again. Because each spectrum travels at different speeds while in the glass they don't reach the other side at the same time. So, the red spectrum exits first and speeds up first while the blue or violet spectrum exits last and speeds up last.

Answer

When white light passes from air to a glass prism, it undergoes refraction. Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another with a different optical density, such as from air to glass. The phenomenon of refraction is governed by Snell's law.

Explanation:
1. Refraction at the first surface:
- When white light enters the glass prism, it encounters the first surface of the prism.
- At this interface, the light ray undergoes refraction and bends towards the normal.
- The normal is an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface of the prism at the point of incidence.
- The refractive index of glass is greater than that of air, so the light ray bends towards the normal.
- The amount of bending depends on the angle of incidence and the refractive index of the medium.
- As a result of this refraction, the different colors of white light, which have different wavelengths, are separated to a certain extent.

2. Internal reflection and refraction inside the prism:
- After refraction at the first surface, the light ray enters the prism and continues to propagate through it.
- Inside the prism, the light ray undergoes multiple reflections and refractions at the other surfaces.
- These reflections and refractions occur due to the different angles at which the light rays strike the surfaces.
- Each time a light ray encounters a surface, it can either be partially reflected or refracted.
- The refracted rays continue to propagate inside the prism, while the reflected rays bounce back.

3. Refraction at the second surface:
- Finally, when the light ray reaches the second surface of the prism, it undergoes another refraction.
- At this interface, the light ray bends away from the normal.
- This bending occurs because the light ray is leaving the prism and entering the air, where the refractive index is lower.
- The angle of refraction depends on the angle of incidence and the refractive index of the medium.

Conclusion:
In summary, when white light is passed from air to a glass prism, it bends towards the normal at the first surface due to refraction. Inside the prism, the light rays undergo multiple reflections and refractions, leading to the separation of colors. Finally, at the second surface, the light ray bends away from the normal before exiting the prism.

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