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Photograph of a triangular prism, dispersing light Lamps as seen through a prism. In optics, a dispersive prism is an optical prism that is used to disperse light, that is, to separate light into its spectral components (the colors of the rainbow). Different wavelengths (colors) of light will be deflected by the prism at different angles. [1]
In a dispersive prism, material dispersion (a wavelength-dependent refractive index) causes different colors to refract at different angles, splitting white light into a spectrum. A compact fluorescent lamp seen through an Amici prism. Dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency. [1]
The light then passed through a prism (in hand-held spectroscopes, usually an Amici prism) that refracted the beam into a spectrum because different wavelengths were refracted different amounts due to dispersion. This image was then viewed through a tube with a scale that was transposed upon the spectral image, enabling its direct measurement.
This is generally an unwanted effect of dispersive prisms. In some cases this can be avoided by choosing prism geometry which light enters and exits under perpendicular angle, by compensation through non-planar light trajectory, or by use of p-polarized light. Total internal reflection alters only the mutual phase between s- and p-polarized light.
For example, the propagation of light through a prism results in the light ray being deflected depending on the shape and orientation of the prism. Additionally, since different frequencies of light have slightly different indexes of refraction in most materials, refraction can be used to produce dispersion spectra that appear
The OPD corresponds to the phase shift undergone by the light emitted from two previously coherent sources when passed through mediums of different refractive indices.For example, a wave passing through air appears to travel a shorter distance than an identical wave traveling the same distance in glass.
Rainbows are formed by dispersion of light, in which the refraction angle depends on the light's frequency. Refraction is also responsible for rainbows and for the splitting of white light into a rainbow-spectrum as it passes through a glass prism. Glass and water have higher refractive indexes than air.
The aligned light then passes through the prism in which it is refracted twice (once when entering and once when leaving). Due to the nature of a dispersive element the angle with which light is refracted depends on its wavelength. This leads to a spectrum of thin lines of light, each being observable at a different angle.