Background: Visible light, passing through a prism at a suitable angle, is dispersed into its
component colors. This happens because of refraction. When visible light waves cross an
interface between two media of different densities (such as from air into glass) at an
angle other than 90 degrees, the light waves are bent (refracted).Different wavelengths of
visible light are bent different amounts and this causes them to be dispersed into a
continuum of colors. (See diagram.)