Skip to content
Clear highlightsClear Highlight Report a problem

Material(Spectral) Dispersion

The speed of light in a medium depends on its wavelength.If pulses of white light are used in an optical fibre violet light travels more slowly than red.The difference in speed causes pulses to become longer (pulse dispersion) as the violet light component falls behind the red light component.Monochromatic light can be used to prevent material dispersion and to prevent the pulses from merging or overlapping.

Read the text

Read the text and highlight anything you think is important. When you go on, the text is hidden and you answer from memory.

Next

Specification: AQA Physics (7407), AS-level, 3.3.2.3 Refraction at a plane surface. Topic: Optics.

Key terms in this lesson

Moment
The turning effect of a force about a pivot, equal to the force multiplied by the perpendicular distance from the pivot to the line of action of the force.

More in Optics

All 27 lessons in Optics · All AQA AS-level Physics topics