Making Our Own Rainbow First we will shine a light through a glass prism. What

do you see on the wall?

Next, we will shine a light on soap bubbles, what do you see now?

Now, we will shine a light on a CD, now what do you see?

How Did Your Observations Differ in Each Case?Let’s answer this question together

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Refraction? Refraction is where light waves bend.

If a light wave moves from one material to another, its speed changes.

That change of speed makes the light bend or be refracted.

Index of Refraction The bending of the light caused by the different speeds

of light in a certain material is different in which kind of material it is.

If the speed of light from one material to another is a big difference, the more the light will be bent as it passes at an angle from one material to another.

Index of refraction Index of refraction: a property of the material that

indicates how much it reduces the speed of light.

The larger the index of refraction, the more light is slowed down in that material.

Eyeglasses, binoculars, cameras, microscopes are all devices that form images using refraction

Spoon in Water Put your spoon in the glass of water

Watch as you put the spoon in the water, look from the side of the glass.

What did you see?

What happened as you put the spoon in the water?

Bent SpoonWhy did the spoon look or appear as if it

was bent when we put the spoon in the water?

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Prisms Remember our prism in the beginning of class,

what appeared on the wall?

A rainbow!!!

This bending of light occurs because it is dependent on the wavelength of the light.

Long waves length are in the red colors and shorter waves are in the blue or violet colors.

White light, like the sun, is made up of a bunch of wavelength or colors.

How Prisms Work White light (sunlight) passes through the prism.

The prism then refracts (bends) the light twice

Once when it passes through the prism, the other time is when it leaves the prism and reenters the air.

Longer wavelength refract (bend) less than the short ones. That is how different colors are separated after they come out of the prism.

Prisms Which color of light do you expect to bend the most?

the least?

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Draw your own prism with the white light coming through and colors coming out from the other end.

Next to your picture, explain what is happening.

Why is the Sky Blue?Let’s try and answer this question think

about the wavelength and colors of the rainbow.

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Why is the Sky Blue? http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html

Now let’s put our correct answers on our page

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