What is the application/purpose of calculating dispersive power of a prism?

Answer 1

A prism used in a spectral analysis situation will spread the beam of light a greater or lessor amount depending on the dispersive power. If I wanted to look at the sodium lines of a substance and my detector looked at a widths of 1 mm, then I would have to use a prism that presented the lines that width. If one prism spread the spectrum half as much as the second, I would have to make my analysis hardware twice as long to get 1mm wide lines from the first as from the second.

Answer 2

Dispersive Power Of Prism

Answer 3

Haven't heard of that term before but I think you may be referring to refraction. A prism can separate the wavelengths of incoming light due to the fact that it slows down the light and bends it. Each wavelength will be affected slightly differently which is why when you shoot white light at the prism you get a rainbow pattern on the other side. The exact process depends upon the refraction index of the prism. So essentially you have "dispersed" the total energy of the white light by seperating it into its constituent wavelengths.