Splitting Light

We use a prism to split white light into its constituent colours. Light is passed through a slit in a screen before it hits the prism. The prism refracts the light and we can see the different colours. A second slit can be used to see the different colours clearly. Physics - Waves - Learning Points. Light refracted by a prism is split into a spectrum. Light is refracted twice in a prism: once entering and once leaving. Violet light is refracted more than red light. The wavelength of light determines the colour we see. Violet light has a short wavelength; red light has a long wavelength. Visible light, which is the part of the spectrum seen by humans, has a wavelength range from 380 to 780 nm. Individual wavelengths of light can be isolated using a screen with a slit. Wavelengths can be combined to form colour images. A Twig Experiment Film. Let students experience real experiments in lab conditions anywhere, from setup, method all the way through to analysis and real-world application.