Q. Consider the following statements about dispersion by glass prism :

1. Splitting of light into its component colours is called dispersion.
2. Issac Newton was the first to observe dispersion.

Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer: Both 1 and 2
Notes: The prism splits the incident white light into a band of colours. The various colours seen are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. The acronym VIBGYOR will help us to remember the sequence of colours. The band of the coloured components of a light beam is called its spectrum. The splitting of light into its component colours is called dispersion. Isaac Newton was the first to use a glass prism to obtain the spectrum of sunlight. He tried to split the colours of the spectrum of white light further by using another similar prism. However, he could not get any more colours. He then placed a second identical prism in an inverted position with respect to the first prism.

This question is part of UPSC Daily 20 MCQ Series Course on GKToday Android app.