An enlightening experiment

Light traveling in a straight line appears colorless. But there's more to light than just colorless nothingness. When light passes through a wedge shaped piece of glass called a prism, the light is separated into 7 different and unique colors. You see these colors when light passes through rain or moisture producing a rainbow.

  1. Place a mirror in the glass of water at an angle (let it lean against the side of the glass).
  2. Turn the glass so the mirror is facing the sun.
  3. Hold the paper at a slant in front of the glass. Move the paper around until you see the rainbow colors. You may need to move the paper around slightly until the colors come into full focus.

What you are seeing is the various wavelengths of light broken apart. Sunlight is comprised of seven different colors. A light bulb actually produces more red and orange colors. A fluorescent light has more blue and yellow. 

 

Look at this guy - what is he doing?  Reeko thinks he's spotted a treasure.  Click the picture and Reeko will reward you with a little surprise...

 

Experiment Supplies

Supplies: Mirror

 

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Reference and Lab Tools

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