Is light velocity slower when it come into prism.

[liger]

why prism can separate white light. ?????? :)

[UncleAl]

why prism can separate white light. ?????? :)

Refractive index is a function of frequency. By choosing a transparent material (no optical absorptions in the window of interest) you are assured of consistently changing dispersion with frequency. Optical dispersion is measured as the "Abbe number." Rutile has one of the largest dispersions, an Abbe number of 5.71 (smaller Abbe number is larger dispersion). The lowest dispersion glasses have Abbe numbers above 90.

 

http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/~wjh/teaching/optics/documents/dispersion.pdf

http://camerafever.com/camlens/specs/A008X0347specs.html

[Turtle]

Refractive index is a function of frequency. By choosing a transparent material (no optical absorptions in the window of interest) you are assured of consistently changing dispersion with frequency. Optical dispersion is measured as the "Abbe number." Rutile has one of the largest dispersions, an Abbe number of 5.71 (smaller Abbe number is larger dispersion). The lowest dispersion glasses have Abbe numbers above 90.

 

___I knew of rutile from geology, I knew prism from buying a small one of forgotten glass type from Edmunds Scientifc more than 20 years ago that I still have, I knew the principle of dispersion & frequency; I did not know their relationship in regard to Abbe numbers.

___I have some questions now. In observing my prism spectrum all these years, if I substituted it with a rutile prism & used it as before, exactly how do these different dispersions appear to my eye? Is it simply a wider projection & the bandwidth proportions remain intact? What do I see different? :)