What is dispersion of light?

Dispersion is the splitting of white light into its constituent colours (VIBGYOR) when passing through a prism.

• Different colours have different wavelengths → different refractive indices → different bending.
• Violet bends most; red bends least.

Examples: Rainbow, prism spectrum, diamond sparkle, oil slick colours.

Dispersion splits white light into seven colours through a prism because each wavelength refracts by a different amount.