DISPERSION OF LIGHT

ELECTRIC CHARGE

Precious Diamond With Rainbow

DISPERSION OF LIGHT
1. PRISM
A prism consists of two plane refracting surfaces (e.g. glass) inclined at an angle. Thus ABKG and ACHG are the two refracting surfaces of the prism. The angle A between the two refracting surfaces is called the angle of the prism or refracting angle of the prism. The line AG where the two refracting faces meet is called refracting edge of the prism.

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

DISPERSION OF LIGHT
1. PRISM
A prism consists of two plane refracting surfaces (e.g. glass) inclined at an angle as shown in Fig. 25.1 (i). Thus ABKG and ACHG are the two refracting surfaces of the prism. The angle A between the two refracting surfaces is called the angle of the prism or refracting angle of the prism. The line AG where the two refracting faces meet is called refracting edge of the prism. When light passes through a prism, it is refracted at two surfaces; once on the way in and once on the way out. Thus in Fig. 25.1 (ii), a ray PQ of *monochromatic light is incident on the prism. Upon entering the prism at the first surface AB, the light is bent towards the normal. Emerging into air from the second surface AC, the light is bent away from the normal. Note that emergent ray deviates from the direction of the incident ray. Thus a prism causes the deviation of light from its path.
G A A K H P B C (i) B (ii) Incident Ray Q Original direction R Em erg ent C

Ray S

Fig. 25.1

Note: The reader may note the difference between refraction through a parallel-sided glass slab and a prism. In a glass slab, the emergent ray is displaced laterally but remains parallel to the incident ray. However, a prism causes deviation i.e. incident ray is deviated from its path.

2. REFRACTION THROUGH PRISM

Fig. 25.2 shows the phenomenon of refraction of light through a prism ABC with an angle of prism = A. A ray N PQ of monochromatic light is incident on face AB of the M prism at an angle i1. This ray is refracted towards the D normal NQE and travels in the prism along QR; the angle Q R i1 i2 of refraction r1 is less than i1. The refracted ray QR is r1 r2 incident at angle r2 on the face AC of the prism. The ray E QR again suffers refraction and emerges out of face AC P at an angle i 2 (angle of emergence). The angle (i.e. S angle between the direction of the incident ray and the B C Fig. 25.2 emergent ray) is called the angle of deviation. Important results: We shall now discuss some important results regarding the refraction of light through a prism. (i) Angle of deviation (): In triangle QDR [See Fig. 25.2], we have, = DQR + DRQ = (i1 r1) + (i2 r2) = (i1 + i2) (r1 + r2) This is the expression for the angle of deviation in a prism. (ii) To prove that A = r1 + r2: In the quadrilateral AQER, AQE and ARE are right angles (See Fig. 25.2). Therefore, the sum of the angles A and E is 180. A + E = 180 ...(i) In QER, r1 + r2 + E = 180 ...(ii) From eqs. (i) and (ii), A = r1 + r2 (iii) To prove that + A = i1 + i2 : We have seen above that : = (i1 + i2) (r1 + r2) But r1 + r 2 = A = (i1 + i2) A or + A = i1 + i2 i.e. Angle of deviation + Angle of prism = Angle of incidence + Angle of emergence
A

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

Thus when a ray of light gets refracted through a prism, the sum of the angle of prism and the angle of deviation is equal to the sum of the angle of incidence and the angle of emergence. (iv) Deviation produced by thin prism : If is the refractive index of the prism material, then according to Snells law,
= sin i1 i1 = sin r1 r1

(for small angles)

i1 = r1 Similarly, i2 = r2 Now + A = i1 + i2 or + A = r1 + r2 = (r1 + r2) = A ( r1 + r2 = A) or = ( 1) A Thus the deviation produced by a thin prism (i.e. angle A is small) depends upon the refractive indes () of the prism material and the angle of the prism. Note. In order to find the deviation caused by a prism, the following formulas are used depending upon the refracting angle A of the prism. = ( 1) A ..... For small A (upto 10) = (i1 + i2) A ..... For A greater than 10

3. MINIMUM DEVIATION
The deviation produced by a prism depends upon (i) the angle of incidence (ii) the angle of prism and (iii) the refractive index of the prism material w.r.t. the surrounding. It is found experimentally that as the angle of incidence changes, the angle of deviation also changes. If we plot a graph between angles of incidence (i1) and the corresponding angle of deviation (), we get the curve shown in Fig. 25.3. The following points are worth nothing : m (i) As the angle of incidence (i1) increases, the angle of deviation first decreases, becomes minimum for a particular angle of incidence and then again increases. O y (ii) The angle of incidence for which the deviation produced x i1 = i2 by the prism is minimum is called the angle of minimum i1 deviation (m). In the position of minimum deviation, a ray Fig. 25.3 of light passes symmetrically through the prism i.e. the refracted ray QR (See Fig. 25.2) is parallel to the base of the prism. In this position, i1 = i2 and r1 = r2 (iii) Note that a prism can deviate incident ray through the same angle for two different angles of incidence x and y (See Fig. 25.3). However, for one and only one particular angle of incidence, the prism produces minimum deviation.

4. REFRACTIVE INDEX OF PRISM MATERIAL

We can find the refractive index of prism material if we know the angle of prism (i.e. angle A) and the angle of minimum deviation (i.e. angle m). Let A = angle of the prism (See Fig. 25.2) m = angle of minimum deviation = refractive index of prism material w.r.t. surrounding medium (air)

As proved in Section 25.2, A + = i1 + i2 and A = r1 + r2 But in the position of minimum deviation, i1 = i2 = i (say) and r1 = r2 = r (say)
r= A 2 and i= A + m 2

sin i = = sin r

A + m sin 2 sin ( A / 2)

4
A + m sin 2 = sin ( A / 2)

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

or

This relation is known as prism formula.

5. DISPERSION
If a prism is placed in a dark room and a narrow beam of white light is allowed to fall on one of its refracting faces, it is found that light coming out from the other face of the prism is split into seven colours viz. violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. This phenomenon is called dispersion of light. See Animation No. 1
A Angle of Deviation for Red Colour Red (8000 ) Orange Yellow Green (5000 Blue Indigo Violet (4000

t Whi

ght e Li

Fig. 25.7

The phenomenon of splitting of white light into its seven constituent colours is called dispersion of light. Fig. 25.7 shows the phenomenon of dispersion of light by a prism. Starting from the base of the prism, the colours would be in the order: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. This band of seven colours is called spectrum of white light. The order of the colours in the spectrum can be easily remembered by the word VIBGYOR. Cause of dispersion: The colour of light depends upon its wavelength. Thus red light (8000) has different wavelength as compared to violet light (4000). According to Cauchys formula, the refractive index () of a material depends upon wavelength () and is given by; b c =a+ 2 + 4 where a, b and c are constants for a material. We know that for a small-angled prism, deviation produced is = A ( 1). Since wavelength of violet light is smaller than that of red light, v > r. Therefore, on entering the prism, the violet light is refracted through a larger angle than the red light (i.e. v > r). Thus when white light enters the first face of the prism, each colour is refracted through different angle i.e. angle of refraction is maximum for red and least for violet ( = sin i / sin r). As a result, dispersion or splitting of white light takes place. On the second surface of the prism, only refraction takes place (denser to rarer) and colours are further separated. Each colour is deviated towards the base of the prism; the violet is deviated the most and the red the least. Notes: (i) The spectrum of white light in generally said to consist of seven colours although indigo and violet are very difficult to distinguish. (ii) The spectrum formed is not very pure because the colours overlap and only the edges of red and violet (outer colours) are sharply defined.

6. ANGULAR DISPERSION
The angular separation between the two extreme colours (i.e. violet and red colours) when a beam of white light passes through a prism is called angular dispersion. In other words, angular dispersion is the angle in which all the colours of white light are contained. Consider the dispersion of white light by a small-angled prism ABC (See Fig. 25.8). Then angular dispersion = v r.

DISPERSION OF LIGHT
A r

ight te L Whi

Red B
Fig. 25.8

Yellow (mean) Violet

Let

A = angle of the prism r = refractive index of the prism material for red colour v = refractive index of the prism material for violet colour

Deviation for violet colour, Deviation for red colour, Angular dispersion, or

v = A (v 1) r = A (r 1)

v r = A (v 1) A (r 1) v r = A (v r)

It is clear that angular dispersion depends upon the angle of the prism and the nature of the prism material.

7. DISPERSIVE POWER
The dispersive power () of a prism is the ratio of angular dispersion to the deviation of the mean ray (i.e. *yellow colour) i.e.
v r where v r = angular dispersion = angular dispersion for yellow colour = mean deviation If A is the angle of the prism and , v and r are the refractive indices of the prism material for yellow, violet and red colours respectively, then, v r = A (v r) and = A ( 1)

Dispersive power, =

A (v r ) v r = A ( 1) 1 r = v i.e. 1 Note that dispersive power of a prism depends only on the nature of the material of the prism. However, angular dispersion and mean deviation both depend on nature of prism material and the angle of prism. Note. When white light passes through a prism, it suffers deviation as well as dispersion. However, two prisms of different materials can be suitably combined to produce (i) dispersion without deviation and (ii) deviation without dispersion.

Dispersive power,

8. PRISM SPECTROMETER
As its name suggests, a prism spectrometer is basically an instrument for observing the spectrum of radiation emitted by a luminous source. It can also be used to measure accurately the refractive
Collimator Slow motion Levelling screw Adjustable slit Prism table

Telescope Vernier scale

Fig. 25.9

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

index of a transparent refracting material (e.g. glass, water etc.). Fig. 25.9 shows the general view of a prism spectrometer. Principle: It is based on the principle that when a beam of light containing many wavelengths is passed through a prism, different wavelengths suffer different deviations. The shortest wavelength is deviated the most; the longest the least. In this way, incident radiation is divided into different parts, each part corresponding to a different wavelength. Thus the spectrum of the source can be obtained on a screen or photographic film or can be studied by means of a telescope. Construction: Fig. 25.10 shows the simplified diagram of a prism spectrometer. The instrument has three main parts viz. (i) collimator (ii) prism table and (iii) telescope. The collimator is fixed, but the table and the telescope can each be rotated about a common vertical axis which passes through the centre of the table and is perpendicular to it. The instrument has an arrangement for angular measurement so that the angle through which the table and the telescope have been turned can be measured accurately.

ator lim L1 Col

Prism
S

L2

Source

Fig. 25.10

Telescope

(i) Collimator: It is a metallic tube with an adjustable slit S at one end and an achromatic converging lens L1 at the other end. The distance between the slit and the lens can be varied. The source of light is placed in front of this slit. In the adjusted position, the slit is at the principal focus of the lens L1 so that when it is illuminated, a beam of parallel light emerges from the lens. (ii) Prism table: It is a circular metal plate on which the prism is placed. The table can be raised or lowered and can also be rotated about a vertical axis passing through its centre. The angle through which the table is rotated can be read on a circular scale graduated in degrees and fitted with two verniers on either side of the table. A parallel beam of light is incident on the prism and the emergent beam is also parallel. Three levelling screws are provided to level the prism table. (iii) Telescope: It is an astronomical telescope mounted horizontally and is free to rotate about the same vertical axis as the prism table. The telescope eyepiece contains a set of cross wires. When a parallel beam of light coming out of the prism falls on the objective lens of the telescope, the spectrum produced is viewed through the eyepiece. Adjustments of spectrometer: Before using the spectrometer, the following three adjustments must be made: (i) The collimator must be adjusted so that parallel beam of light emerges from it. (ii) The telescope must be adjusted so that parallel rays entering it are brought to a focus at the cross-wires near the eyepiece. (iii) The refracting edges of the prism must be parallel to the axis of rotation of the telescope i.e. the table must be levelled. (i) Collimator adjustment: With the prism removed from the table, the collimator slit is illuminated with sodium light and the telescope is turned so that it is in direct line with the slit. The slit is moved in or out of the collimator tube until the image of the slit, as seen through telescope, is in the sharp focus. Since the telescope has been set to focus parallel light, the collimator must now be providing parallel light. (ii) Telescope adjustment: First, the telescope eyepiece is adjusted until the cross-wires are distinctly seen. Then the telescope is focussed on a distant object (by changing the position of the objective relative to the eyepiece and the cross-wires) in such a way that there is no parallax between the image and the cross-wires. The significance of using distant object is that the parallel rays now entering the telescope will be brought to a focus at the cross-wires. (iii) Levelling the table: If the rectangular slit is not in the centre of the field of view when the prism is placed on the table, the refracting edge of the prism is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the prism. The table then must be levelled with the help of spirit level. Working: The prism spectrometer is adjusted so that is is ready for use. The slit S is illuminated by a source whose spectrum we wish to analyse. The collimator lens L1 makes the light parallel. The parallel rays strike the prism, are deviated through various angles, and emerge still in parallel bundles. Thus the prism has bent light of different wavelengths through different angles. The shortest wavelength is deviated the most and the longest the least. The objective lens L 2 of the telescope forms real images of the slit at

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

A; one in each colour. Each image of the slit is called a spectral line. These line images form the spectrum of the source and can be viewed through the eyepiece of the telescope. For photographic work, eye is not used and a photographic film is placed at A.

9. MEASUREMENT OF REFRACTIVE INDEX BY PRISM SPECTROMETER

If the refracting angle A of a prism and the minimum deviation m produced by it are measured, then the refractive index of the material of the prism can be found by using the following relation: A + m sin 2 ...(i) = sin ( A / 2) We can measure A and m with the prism spectrometer. Thus the refractive index of the prism material can be determined. (i) Measurement of A: The angle A of the prism can be measured very accurately by a spectrometer. After setting the spectrometer, the prism is placed on the table. The table is turned so that the refracting angle A of the prism faces the collimator lens. Now both the refracting
P A a Q a R B
Fig. 25.12

a b q1 q2 q

b T b C U

faces AB and AC receive parallel light simultaneously. The telescope is turned to position T1 so that an image of the slit (produced by reflection at face AB) is centred on the cross-wires. This position of the telescope is noted on the circular scale. The telescope is now turned to position T2 to receive light reflected from face AC. The position of the telescope is again noted on the circular scale. From simple geometry, the angle of rotation of the telescope (See Fig. 25.11) from position T 1 to position T 2 is 2A i.e. = 2A. Hence the angle of the prism A can be found i.e. A = /2. Proof. Suppose the incident ray PQ makes a glancing angle with the face AB of the prism and the parallel ray ST at T makes glancing angle with face AC (See Fig. 25.12). The reflected ray QR then makes a glancing angle with the face AB. Hence the deviation of the ray PQ is 2 i.e. 1 = 2. Similarly the deviation of the ray ST at T is 2 i.e. 2 = 2. Angle of rotation of telescope, = 1 + 2 = 2 + 2 But +=A =2A Therefore, the angle between the reflected rays QR and TU is equal to twice the angle of the prism. (ii) Measurement of m: In order to measure the minimum deviation (m) caused by the prism, the latter is symmetrically placed on the prism table. The image of the slit after refraction through the prism is observed through the telescope. The table ct is slowly rotated so that the angle of deviaDire n A Y tio tion decreases. The telescope is also rotated so Posi that the image remains centred on the cross-wires. m The image of the slit and the telescope slowly apX proach the fixed line XY. Finally, a position T2 is reached when the image is stationary and with the B C T2 T1 rotation of the prism in the same direction, the image of the slit begins to move away from XY and the angle of deviation increases. Therefore, Fig. 25.13 position T2 is the position of minimum deviation and is noted on the circular scale. Then prism is removed and the telescope is turned to the direct position so as to get the direct image of the slit. This position of the telescope is again noted on the circular scale. The difference between the two readings gives the angle of minimum deviation (m) caused by the prism. As the values of A and m are measured, therefore, refractive index () of the prism material can be determined by using the relation (i) above.

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

10. TYPES OF SPECTRA

There are two main types of spectra : (i) Emission spectra (ii) Absorption spectra The various wavelengths of radiation emitted by a hot body is known as emission spectra. Every substance has a unique emission spectra. Therefore, the study of emission spectra of a substance enables us to determine the characteristics of the substance. If light from a source having a continuous spectrum is made to pass through a substance, certain wavelengths are absorbed by the substance. The spectra so obtained is called absorption spectra.

11. EMISSION SPECTRA

The spectrum of radiation emitted by a source of light is called emission spectra. When the slit of the spectrometer is illuminated by the light source, a slit image is formed for each wavelength emitted by the source. Depending upon the character of the light source, emission spectra are of three kinds viz. (i) line spectra (ii) Band spectra (iii) continuous spectra. (i) Line spectra: The emission spectra which consist of series of separate lines are known as line spectra. e.g. sodium discharge lamp, mercury vapour lamp, neon discharge tube etc emit line spectra i.e they emit light of definite wavelengths. The line spectra are emitted by an individual atom. In order to study the line spectra of an element, the element is converted into gaseous state. It is because in the gaseous state, the individual atoms are quite apart and they do not interact with each other. Therefore, we get spectrum due to a single atom. The different lines in the line spectra have different intensities and separation. Fig. 25.14 shows one series of hydrogen atom. This is called Balmer series after the name of its discoverer. The origin of line spectra can be explained on the basis of atomic theory. The electrons of an isolated atom can be considered to move in definite orbits about the nucleus. Each orbit has fixed amount of energy associated with it. The larger the orbit of an electron, the greater is its energy. If an atom is involved in a violent collision (e.g., in a hot gas), an electron may gain energy to move to the higher-energy orbit. Such an atom is unstable and the electron soon returns to its original orbit. In doing so, it gives up the energy it gained by emitting light. The wavelength of the emitted light depends upon the energy of the two concerned orbits. There is usually more
4861.3 4101.7

6562.8

4340.5

Ha

Hd Hg Hb BALMER SERIES OF HYDROGEN ATOM

Fig. 25.14

than one wavelength in the emitted light and each wavelength corresponds to a change in energy of the atom. All atoms of any particular element have the same sets of orbits. Therefore, each element produces a unique line spectrum which may be used to identify the element. (ii) Band spectra: The emission spectra which consist of separate group of lines (called bands) are known as band spectra. The band spectra are produced by gases and vapours whose molecules contain more than one atom (e.g. O2, CO, etc.). Each atom in the molecule emits its own line spectra. It is due to the overlapping of the line spectrum of different atoms of a molecule that we get a group of lines or bands. The lines within each band are closer at one side than the other as shown in Fig. 25.15.

Fig. 25.15

It may be noted that bands produced by heavy molecules are close together while those of light molecules are widely spaced. The bands in the spectrum of molecular hydrogen (H2) are so widely spaced that the spectrum has the appearance of a line spectrum. (iii) Continuous spectra: The spectra which consist of continuous range of wavelengths are called continuous spectra.

DISPERSION OF LIGHT

The continuous spectra are produced by hot solids and liquids and by high-density gases such as in the sun. In these states of matter, the atoms and molecules are close together and the energy changes in a particular atom are influenced by the neighbouring atoms to such an extent that radiations of all different wavelengths are emitted. This form of spectrum depends upon the temperature and surface conditions. Examples of continuous spectra are light emitted by carbon arc and incandescent bulb. Note: Line spectra and band spectra are the characteristic of the elements which produce them. However, continuous spectrum is not the characteristic of the substance which produces it.

12. ABSORPTION SPECTRA

When the atoms of a substance acquire energy (e.g. from heat), they become excited and the electrons circulating around the nuclei enter into orbits of higher energy. Subsequently, they revert to their ground states, giving out energy of certain wavelengths in the process. This is the emission spectra of the substance. The mechanism is capable of operating in the reverse so that atoms which radiate light of certain frequencies also absorb these frequencies when they are cooler than the emitting source. For example, if light from a source having continuous spectrum is passed through sodium vapours before reaching the slit of a spectrometer, the resulting Emission spectrum is a continuous spectrum lacking wavelengths characterspectrum of Na istic of luminous sodium vapour. The missing wavelengths are identified as the dark lines in the spectrum. Such a spectrum is called an absorption spectrum. The missing wavelengths (i.e. dark lines Absorption in the spectrum) have been absorbed by the sodium vapour bespectrum of Na cause the light of these wavelengths is exactly of the right energy to cause electron transitions within the sodium atoms. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that dark lines in the absorption spectrum of sodium Fig. 25.16 occur at the same position as the bright lines in the emission spectrum of sodium as shown in Fig. 25.16. Thus a substance which emits light of certain wavelengths at a given temperature would also absorb light of same wavelengths at that temperature. In other words, a good emitter of certain wavelengths is also a good absorber of those wavelengths. This is known as Kirchhoffs law in optics. Absorption spectra, like emission spectra is of three types viz. line, band and continuous spectra. The line absorption spectra is produced by atoms in gaseous state whereas band absorption spectra is produced by molecules in gaseous state. However, continuous absorption spectrum is produced by liquids and solids.

13. SOLAR SPECTRUM

The solar spectrum appears to be continuous spectrum on casual inspection. However, critical examination shows that it is a dark-line continuous spectrum i.e. a continuous spectrum with a large number of dark lines. These lines were discovered by Fraunhofer and are, therefore, called Fraunhofer lines. These lines are produced due to the absorption of light of certain wavelengths by the solar atmosphere. Fig. 25.17 shows why the sun produces dark-line continuous spectrum. The central part of the sun consists of highly dense mixture of gases and metallic vapours (See Fig. Chromosphere 25.17). It is called photosphere. Around the photosphere is another spherical region called chromosphere and contians gases and metallic Photovapours at comparitively lower temperature. When white light from sphere the photosphere passes through these vapours, they absorb the light of those wavelengths which they would emit if heated to incanSun descence. Thus if sodium, iron and copper are present in the sun, the vapours of these elements will be present in its atmosphere. The light passing through the suns atmosphere containing these vapours will lose those wavelengths (or colours) which sodium, iron and copper emit when luminous. These wavelengths will, therefore, be missing when Fig. 25.17 solar spectrum is examined. The dark lines in the solar spectrum represent the missing wavelengths. The missing wavelengths correspond to definite elements which compose the sun. It has been found that there are present in the sun the same elements which are present on the earth. In fact, one element, helium was discovered on the sun by this method before it was found on earth. Note that the solar spectrum is an example of line absorption spectrum.

14. FRAUNHOFER LINES

A number of dark lines observed in the otherwise continuous spectrum of the sun are called Fraunhofer lines. Careful examination of the suns spectrum reveals that it contains a large number of dark lines. These lines were discovered by Fraunhofer in 1814 and accordingly are known as Fraunhofer lines. The Fraunhofer lines indicate the presence in the suns atmosphere of certain elements in the vapourised form. The vapours are cooler than the central hot portion of the sun. According to Kirchhoffs law, an element can absorb only those wavelengths which it would emit while hot. When suns continuous spectrum from the central hot portion passes through the cooler part, the vapours absorb their own characteristic wavelength

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DISPERSION OF LIGHT

from the suns continuous spectrum. These missing wavelengths represent dark lines in suns spectrum. By comparing the wavelengths of dark lines (Fraunhofer lines) with the spectra of known elements, we can determine the various elements present in the sun.

15. SCATTERING OF LIGHT IN ATMOSPHERE

When a beam of light falls on an atom, it causes the electrons in the atom to vibrate. The vibrating electrons, in turn, re-emit light in all directions (See Fig. 25.18). This process is called scattering. Earths atmosphere contains air molecules and other tiny parScattered radiation ticles. When light from the sun passes through the atmosphere, it gets scatterred by the large number of particles in Incident beam + the atmosphere. According to Rayleigh law, the intensity of scattered light varies inversely as the fourth power Atom of the wavelength of light. (i) Blue colour of sky. Since the wavelength of *blue colour is smaller than the wavelength of red colour ( b < r) , scattering of blue light by particles in earths atmosphere is very large. For this reason, we see a blue sky.

Fig. 25.18

(ii) Clouds are white. A cloud is composed of large dust Less Blue scattered particles and water molecules. These large sized particles do not obey Rayleigh law of scattering. Therefore, all colours or wavelengths are scattered equally. The overall result is a white cloud. (iii) Sun looks reddish at the sunset or sunrise. At the time Sun of sunset or sunrise, the sun is near the horizon as near Observer on Earth horizon shown in Fig. 25.19. The rays from the sun must travel Fig. 25.19 more kilometres through the atmosphere than at noon. Therefore, more blue is scattered from the sunlight. The removal of blue leaves the transmitted light more reddish in appearance. Therefore, sun looks reddish at the sunset or sunrise.

Sun near overhead

16. RAINBOW
The coloured concentric arcs or the spectrum of white light from the sun in the forms of bows when the sun shines on raindrop during or after the rain is called a rainbow. The reflection and refraction by water droplets causes the formation of a rainbow. To see a rainbow, you must have the sun to your back while you look towards a cloud of water drops. Sometimes, two rainbows are seen. The inner rainbow is called primary rainbow and the outer one is called secondary rainbow. The primary rainbow is brighter than the secondary rainbow. (i) Primary rainbow. The primary rainbow has violet colour on the inner edge and the red colour on the outer edge of the rainbow (See Fig 25.20). It is formed due to two refractions and one total internal reflection of the light incident on the droplets. When white light from the sun enters a spherical rain drop, the light is refracted or bent. The different colours of light are bent through different angles. After total internal reflection from the back inner surface of the drop, different colours of light are again refracted as they leave the front surface. Fig. 25.20 shows how red and violet rays are bent by spherical raindrops and reflected off the back inner surface. Violet is bent the most and so reaches the observers eye from droplets lower in the sky. On the other hand, red is bent the least so that it reaches the observers eye from droplets higher in the sky. Other colours of light are seen at intermediate angles. The result is that top of the rainbow appears red and the inner arc appears violet. Fig. 25.21 shows the path of light in a spherical water drop. A ray of light from the sun is
Sunli ght

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet

These two rays are seen by observer

Violet

Red
Vio le t

Red
Fig. 25.20

DISPERSION OF LIGHT incident on the spherical raindrop at angle of incidence Incident ray of . The ray is refracted along AB making an angle of A refraction . Note that is also the angle of incidence and internal reflection on the back inner surface of the raindrop. Also is the angle of incidence on the exiting f point from the raindrop. Because of the symmetries in volved, the ray exits at an angle . The angle between the incident ray and the exiting ray is . C (ii) Secondary rainbow. The secondary rainbow ray has red colour on the inner edge and violet Exiting colour on the outer edge of the rainbow (See Fig. 25.21 Fig. 25.22). It is formed due to two refractions and two total internal reflections of light incident on the droplets. Note that the order of colours of the secondary rainbow is just reverse of that of the primary rainbow. This is due to the fact that light enters from Sunlight the bottom of the drop and not from the top as is the case when a primary rainbow is formed. Since light suffers two total internal V reflections, more light is absorbed and the secondary rainbow is always fainter than the primary rainbow.

11

B Raindrop

Water drop V R R

Fig. 25.22