Prisms

This passage discusses what a prism is and how it affects light.

Lexile Level: 500L

Categories: Science & Technology

Usually we see sunlight as white light. Sunlight is actually many colors mixed together. A prism helps us see the colors in sunlight. A prism is a piece of glass. It is shaped like a triangle. When light hits a prism, it slows down. It can't go directly through the glass. The prism bends the light. As light bends, the colors in it separate. We begin to see all the colors of the visible spectrum. The visible spectrum is the range of colors we can see with our eyes. There are seven colors in the spectrum. These colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. A prism always separates these colors in the same order. Red is always first. Violet is always last. Raindrops act like prisms. In other words, water can bend sunlight. When sunlight goes through raindrops, you can see the visible spectrum. You can see a rainbow!