How is refraction related to dispersion?

Question

Elena Albarran · Accepted Answer

You first think at refraction; a beam of light passes from a medium to another and get deflected. To distinguish these two media you use the index of refraction #n#, which is different for each medium.
But, the index of refraction #n=c/v# is basically telling us what is the velocity #v# of our light in that particular medium compared to the speed in vacuum #c#. The important thing is that the refractive index depends upon the wavelength!!!!

Now we get to dispersion!
A beam of white light passes from a medium to another BUT this beam is the composition of many chromatic components (colours each one at a certain wavelength) and each one has its "personal" index of refraction in the second medium!!!! So each component is deflected of a different amount (have a look at Snell's Law to "see" this deflection).

Hope it helps!

Charles Aeschliman · Answer

undefined Refraction and dispersion are related because both phenomena involve the bending of light as it passes through different mediums. Refraction occurs when light waves change direction as they pass from one medium to another due to a change in the speed of light. Dispersion, on the other hand, is the separation of light into its component colors (wavelengths) as it passes through a medium, such as a prism. This separation occurs because different colors of light bend by different amounts when entering a medium, causing them to spread out. Therefore, dispersion is a specific case of refraction where different wavelengths of light are refracted by different amounts, resulting in the separation of colors.