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 :

• Use Snell’s Law to find the angle of refraction for each color component of white light.
• Apply the prism formula: $$\delta = (A + \epsilon) - \alpha,$$ where $A$ is the angle of the prism, $\epsilon$ is the angle of deviation, and $\alpha$ 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.