Exemplar Problems

Problem 2 : Prism Dispersion

Problem Statement: A ray of white light is incident on an equilateral glass prism. Calculate the angular dispersion produced by the prism.

Solution :
  • Step 1: Use Snell’s Law to find the angle of deviation (\delta) for each color component of white light.
  • Step 2: Apply the prism formula: $$(\delta = (A + \epsilon) - \alpha),$$ where (A) is the angle of the prism, ε is the angle of deviation, and α is the angle of incidence for a specific color.
  • Step 3: Calculate δ for the violet and red colors separately.
  • Step 4: The angular dispersion Δδ is the difference in δ for violet and red light.

These problems test your understanding of the principles of refraction, dispersion, and the behavior of light when passing through optical elements like lenses and prisms.