Dispersion of light (light breakdown; light scattering) is the phenomenon of breaking down light into a spectrum due to the dependence of the refractive index of a medium on the frequency of the light wave.
light scattering is the phenomenon of breaking down white light into its component colors.
The reason for this breakdown is the dependence of the speed of light in a medium on its frequency (wavelength).
The speed of light in a medium is given by:
v = c / n,
where
n – refractive index of the medium,
c – speed of light in a vacuum (299,792,458 m/s).
The phenomenon of light dispersion was discovered in 1672 by the scientist Newton, who, through experiments, demonstrated the relationship between the color of a light wave and its frequency.
Isaac Newton’s experiments illustrate how white light is broken down when passing through a prism.
