How do I make my prism work?

Question

My triangular prism is made of perspex. I have tried using florescent lights, torchlights, but I still can't see the spectrum. Does it work only with sunlight?

Answer 1

No; sunlight isn't particularly special. But you do need a strong, narrow beam to get it to split cleanly, and the sun is usually the strongest convenient light source. Draw the curtains, leaving a narrow gap. Arrange for the beam to strike the middle of one of the faces of your prism at an angle. Adjust the prism back and forth until you observe dispersion. Note that if you have any un-split light striking the surface on which you are trying to project your spectrum, the spectrum will appear weak.

Once you have it working successfully with sunlight, then you can try it with other light sources.

Fluorescent lights (not "florescent" -- that is a botanical term meaning "in flower" -- well, some people might have florescent lights in their attic gardens ..... but that's a different subject!) sometimes produce line spectra or spectra with discontinuities, depending on what phosphors are used in the tube, and the light from a TV screen is also discontinuous. Filament bulbs produce a continuous spectrum. Sodium street lamps are monochromatic -- they produce only a single wavelength. Most LEDs are near-monochromatic at low brightness, but the breadth of the spectrum increases as you increase the current (this is weirdy quantum behaviour, basically the act of emitting a photon alters the wavelength of the next photon to be emitted). White LEDs actually have a blue light source exciting a phosphor which emits red and green light, giving white. Firelight is continuous, but introducing chemicals to the flame will produce bright lines which *may* be visible against the background. Gas mantles produce a continuous spectrum with bright and dim regions.

Answer 2

1. It depends on the quality of prism.
2. Try making spectrum in dark room and on white paper.
3. Your torch light must be powerful.
4. Your angle of bombarding light must be correct.

According to me it mostly works in sunlight.

Answer 3

ur prism is absolutely allrignt. the light sources that we use in houses has low dispersion capacity so that we can view clearer in less light. use light sources like sunlight, sodium vapour light (manly used as street lights) or neon gas light.

Answer 4

it will work with lamps etc, but you'll need to black out everything but a narrow slit from the lamp, it will be very weak though. Sunlight is the best.

Answer 5

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