Prism Dispersion

About this simulation

Prism Dispersion traces each color of a white beam through a 60 degree glass prism using the vector form of Snell's law at both faces. Refractive index follows the Cauchy model, so shorter wavelengths bend more. Students set the beam angle, choose crown or dense flint glass and boost the dispersion up to four times to make the spread easy to see. Readouts show n for red and violet, the mean deviation and the spectrum spread. It explains rainbows and why different colors refract differently.

What students can explore

Change Beam angle and watch the Mean deviation readout.
Switch Glass between Crown (BK7) and Dense flint and compare the spectrum spread.
Set Dispersion boost to 1 to see how small real glass dispersion is.
Compare n for red and n for violet in the readouts.
Raise the boost to 4 and describe the order of colors from top to bottom.

Learning objectives

1Explain why white light separates into colors in a prism.
2Describe how refractive index depends on wavelength.
3Compare the dispersion of two types of glass.
4Link prism dispersion to the formation of rainbows.

Questions teachers ask

Is the Prism Dispersion simulation free?

Yes. It is free to use, needs no sign-up and runs in any modern browser, including whiteboards, tablets and Chromebooks.

Why does violet bend more than red?

Glass slows shorter wavelengths more, so its refractive index is higher for violet light than for red. Each face of the prism bends violet by a larger angle.

How do I use it?

Adjust the beam angle, pick a glass type and change the dispersion boost. Read the refractive indices for 700 nm red and 400 nm violet, and the spectrum spread.

What does the dispersion boost do?

It multiplies the wavelength-dependent part of the refractive index. A setting of 1 matches real glass; higher values exaggerate the spread so it is easier to see in class.

Embed this simulation

Drop it into your LMS, blog, or class site — free.

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Continue exploring

Preview of Prism dispersion by wavelength

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