Action of a Prism
Purpose
Demonstrates dispersion of white light through a prism, showing that refractive index depends on wavelength. Students observe the continuous visible spectrum produced when shorter wavelengths (violet) refract more than longer wavelengths (red).
Figure 1:
Complete setup: slide projector with slit produces a narrow beam that passes through the equilateral prism, projecting a visible spectrum onto sketch paper mounted on the blackboard.
Figure 2:
Close-up of the Kodak slide projector and equilateral plexiglass prism on the optical bench platform.
Equipment
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Demo Apparatus
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