Lesson 4: Interesting Refraction Phenomena

Dispersion of Light by Prisms

In the Light and Color unit of The Physics Classroom Tutorial, the visible light spectrum
was introduced and discussed. Visible light, also known as white light, consists of a
collection of component colors. These colors are often observed as light passes through a
triangular prism. Upon passage through the prism, the white light is separated into its
component colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The separation of visible
light into its different colors is known as dispersion. It was mentioned in the Light and
Color unit that each color is characteristic of a distinct wave frequency; and different
frequencies of light waves will bend varying amounts upon passage through a prism. In
this unit, we will investigate the dispersion of light in more detail, pondering the reasons
why different frequencies of light bend or refract different amounts when passing through
the prism.

Earlier in this unit, the concept of optical density was introduced. Different materials are
distinguished from each other by their different optical densities. The optical density is
simply a measure of the tendency of a material to slow down light as it travels through it.
As mentioned earlier, a light wave traveling through a transparent material interacts with
the atoms of that material. When a light wave impinges upon an atom of the material, it is
absorbed by that atom. The absorbed energy causes the electrons in the atom to vibrate. If
the frequency of the light wave does not match the resonance frequency of the vibrating
electrons, then the light will be reemitted by the atom at the same frequency at which it
impinged upon it. The light wave then travels through the interatomic vacuum towards
the next atom of the material. Once it impinges upon the next atom, the process of
absorption and reemission is repeated.

The optical density of a material is the result of the tendency of the atoms of a material to
maintain the absorbed energy of the light wave in the form of vibrating electrons before
reemitting it as a new electromagnetic disturbance. Thus, while a light wave travels
through a vacuum at a speed of c (3.00 x 108 m/s), it travels through a transparent
material at speeds less than c. The index of refraction value (n) provides a quantitative
expression of the optical density of a given medium. Materials with higher index of
refraction values have a tendency to hold onto the absorbed light energy for greater
lengths of time before reemitting it to the interatomic void. The more closely that the
frequency of the light wave matches the resonant frequency of the electrons of the atoms
of a material, the greater the optical density and the greater the index of refraction. A
light wave would be slowed down to a greater extent when passing through such a
material
What was not mentioned earlier in this unit is that the index of refraction values are
dependent upon the frequency of light. For visible light, the n value does not show a large
variation with frequency, but nonetheless it shows a variation. For instance, the n value
for frequencies of violet light is 1.53; and the n value for frequencies of red light is 1.51.
The absorption and reemission process causes the higher frequency (lower wavelength)
violet light to travel slower through crown glass than the lower frequency (higher
wavelength) red light. It is this difference in n value for the varying frequencies (and
wavelengths) which causes the dispersion of light by a triangular prism. Violet light,
being slowed down to a greater extent by the absorption and reemission process, refracts
more than red light. Upon entry of white light at the first boundary of a triangular prism,
there will be a slight separation of the white light into the component colors of the
spectrum. Upon exiting the triangular prism at the second boundary, the separation
becomes even greater and ROYGBIV is observed in all its splendor.

The Angle of Deviation

The amount of overall refraction caused by the passage of a light ray through a prism is
often expressed in terms of the angle of deviation ( ). The angle of deviation is the angle
made between the incident ray of light entering the first face of the prism and the
refracted ray which emerges from the second face of the prism. Because of the different
indices of refraction for the different wavelengths of visible light, the angle of deviation
varies with wavelength. Colors of the visible light spectrum which have shorter
wavelengths (BIV) will deviated more from their original path than the colors with longer
wavelengths (ROY). The emergence of different colors of light from a triangular prism at
different angles leads an observer to see the component colors of visible light separated
from each other.

Of course the discussion of the dispersion of light by triangular prisms begs the following
question: Why doesn't a square or rectangular prism cause the dispersion of a narrow
beam of white light? The short answer is that it does. The long answer is provided in the
following discussion and illustrated by the diagram below.
Suppose that a flashlight could be covered with black paper with a slit across it so as to
create a beam of white light. And suppose that the beam of white light with its
component colors unseparated were directed at an angle towards the surface of a
rectangular glass prism. As would be expected, the light would refract towards the
normal upon entering the glass and away from the normal upon exiting the glass. But
since the violet light has a shorter wavelength, it would refract more than the longer
wavelength red light. The refraction of light at the entry location into the rectangular
glass prism would cause a little separation of the white light. However, upon exiting the
glass prism, the refraction takes place in the opposite direction. The light refracts away
from the normal, with the violet light bending a bit more than the red light. Unlike the
passage through the triangular prism with non-parallel sides, there is no overall angle of
deviation for the various colors of white light. Both the red and the violet components of
light are traveling in the same direction as they were traveling before entry into the prism.
There is however a thin red fringe present on one end of the beam and thin violet fringe
present on the opposite side of the beam. This fringe is evidence of dispersion. Because
there is a different angle of deviation of the various components of white light after
transmission across the first boundary, the violet is separated ever so slightly from the
red. Upon transmission across the second boundary, the direction of refraction is
reversed; yet because the violet light has traveled further downward when passing
through the rectangle it is the primary color present in the lower edge of the beam. The
same can be said for red light on the upper edge of the beam.

Dispersion of light provides evidence for the existence of a spectrum of wavelengths

present in visible light. It is also the basis for understanding the formation of rainbows.
Rainbow formation is the next topic of discussion in Lesson 4.

Lesson 4: Interesting Refraction Phenomena

Rainbow Formation

One of nature's most splendid masterpieces is the rainbow. A rainbow is an excellent

demonstration of the dispersion of light and one more piece of evidence that visible light
 is composed of a spectrum of wavelengths, each associated with a
distinct color. To view a rainbow, your back must be to the sun as
you look at an approximately 40 degree angle above the ground into
a region of the atmosphere with suspended droplets of water or even
a light mist. Each individual droplet of water acts as a tiny prism
which both disperses the light and reflects it back to your eye. As you
sight into the sky, wavelengths of light associated with a specific color arrive at your eye
from the collection of droplets. The net effect of the vast array of droplets is that a
circular arc of ROYGBIV is seen across the sky. But just exactly how do the droplets of
water disperse and reflect the light? And why does the pattern always appear as
ROYGBIV from top to bottom? These are the questions which we will seek to
understand on this page of The Physics Classroom Tutorial. To understand these
questions, we will need to draw upon our understanding of refraction, internal reflection
and dispersion.

The Path of Light Through a Droplet

A collection of suspended water droplets in the atmosphere serve as a refractor of light.

The water represents a medium with a different optical density than the surrounding air.
Light waves refract when they cross over the boundary from one medium to another. The
decrease in speed upon entry of light into a water droplet causes a bending of the path of
light towards the normal. And upon exiting the droplet, light speeds up and bends away
from the normal. The droplet causes a deviation in the path of light as it enters and exits
the drop.

There are countless paths by which light rays from the sun can pass through a drop. Each
path is characterized by this bending towards and away from the normal. One path of
great significance in the discussion of rainbows is the path in which light refracts into the
droplet, internally reflects, and then refracts out of the droplet. The diagram at the right
depicts such a path. A light ray from the sun enters the droplet with a slight downward
trajectory. Upon refracting twice and reflecting once, the light ray is dispersed and bent
downward towards an observer on earth's surface. Other entry locations into the droplet
may result in similar paths or even in light continuing through the droplet and out the
opposite side without significant internal reflection. But for the entry location shown in
the diagram at the right, there is an optimal concentration of light exiting the airborne
droplet at an angle towards the ground. As in the case of the refraction of light through
prisms with nonparallel sides, the refraction of light at two boundaries of the droplet
results in the dispersion of light into a spectrum of colors. The shorter wavelength blue
and violet light refract a slightly greater amount than the longer wavelength red light.
Since the boundaries are not parallel to each other, the double refraction results in a
distinct separation of the sunlight into its component colors.

The angle of deviation between the incoming light rays from the sun and the refracted
rays directed to the observer's eyes is approximately 42 degrees for the red light. Because
of the tendency of shorter wavelength blue light to refract more than red light, its angle of
deviation from the original sun rays is approximately 40 degrees. As shown in the
diagram, the red light refracts out of the droplet at a steeper angle toward an observer on
the ground. There are a multitude of paths by which the original ray can pass through a
droplet and and subsequently angle towards the ground. Some of the paths are dependent
upon which part of the droplet the incident rays contact. Other paths are dependent upon
the location of the sun in the sky and the subsequent trajectory of the incoming rays
towards the droplet. Yet the greatest concentration of outgoing rays is found at these 40-
42 degree angles of deviation. At these angles, the dispersed light is bright enough to
result in a rainbow display in the sky. Now that we understand the path of light through
an individual droplet, we can approach the topic of how the rainbow forms.

The Formation of the Rainbow

A rainbow is most often viewed as a circular arc in the sky. An observer on the ground
observes a half-circle of color with red being the color perceived on the outside or top of
the bow. Those who are fortunate enough to have seen a rainbow from an airplane in the
sky may know that a rainbow can actually be a complete circle. Observers on the ground
only view the top half of the circle since the bottom half of the circular arc is prevented
by the presence of the ground (and the rather obvious fact that suspended water droplets
aren't present below ground). Yet observers in an airborne plane can often look both
upward and downward to view the complete circular bow.

The circle (or half-circle) results because there are a collection of suspended droplets in
the atmosphere which are capable concentrating the dispersed light at angles of deviation
of 40-42 degrees relative to the original path of light from the sun. These droplets
actually form a circular arc, with each droplet within the arc dispersing light and
reflecting it back towards the observer. Every droplet within the arc is refracting and
dispersing the entire visible light spectrum (ROYGBIV). As described above, the red
light is refracted out of a droplet at steeper angles towards the ground than the blue light.
Thus, when an observer sights at a steeper angle with respect to the ground, droplets of
water within this line of sight are refracting the red light to the observer's eye. The blue
light from these same droplets is directed at a less steep angle and is directed along a
trajectory which passes over the observer's head. Thus, it is the red light which is seen
when looking at the steeper angles relative to the ground. Similarly, when sighting at less
steep angles, droplets of water within this line of sight are directing blue light to the
observer's eye while the red light is directed downwards at a more steep angle towards
the observer's feet. This discussion explains why it is the red light which is observed at
the top and on the outer perimeter of a rainbow and the blue light which is observed on
the bottom and the inner perimeter of the rainbow.
Rainbows are not limited to the dispersion of light by raindrops. The splashing of water at
the base of a waterfall caused a mist of water in the air which often results in the
formation of rainbows. A backyard water sprinkler is another common source of a
rainbow. Bright sunlight, suspended droplets of water and the proper angle of sighting are
the three necessary components for viewing one of nature's most splendid masterpieces.