Answer to Question #34556 in Physical Chemistry for king emdad

Question

how spectrum formed

Answer 1

Light, as we recall from Einstein's Theory of Relativity, always travels in a vacuum at a constant speed known as c (approximately 300,000 kilometers per second) BUT light also travels at slower speeds when it is not in a vacuum (which is perfectly logical because light interacts with the media through which it passes). And light of different wavelengths will be slowed to different degrees, and consequently, it is also refracted (bent) to different degrees when passing through a prism. Hence, the wavelengths, which determine the colors, separate.