What device separates white light into colors?

What device separates white light into colors?

• A. Ciliary muscles
• B. Prism
• C. Opaque
• D. Filter

Answer: (B)

White light is a mix of many colors. A prism separates it through dispersion. As light enters the prism, it slows and bends, and different colors bend by different amounts because the glass’s refractive index depends on wavelength. Shorter wavelengths bend more than longer wavelengths, so the colors spread out and form a spectrum once the light exits. This is how a prism turns white light into the colors of the rainbow. The other options don’t produce a spectrum: ciliary muscles control eye focus, opaque blocks light, and a filter alters or blocks certain wavelengths rather than splitting the light into separate colors.

White light is a mix of many colors. A prism separates it through dispersion. As light enters the prism, it slows and bends, and different colors bend by different amounts because the glass’s refractive index depends on wavelength. Shorter wavelengths bend more than longer wavelengths, so the colors spread out and form a spectrum once the light exits. This is how a prism turns white light into the colors of the rainbow. The other options don’t produce a spectrum: ciliary muscles control eye focus, opaque blocks light, and a filter alters or blocks certain wavelengths rather than splitting the light into separate colors.