The many colors of light

If you say the word “light” there is a vision of white light from a tubelight or yellow light from a bulb that comes first to mind. However that simple light is not just made up of one color. It is in fact a collection of many different colors all rolled into one. In this science experiment we are going to split light up to reveal its spectrum.

This Light Spectrum is the set of visible wave lengths of the light that can be seen by the naked eye. For the experiment you will need a pan two third full of water, a small mirror, a blank sheet of paper, and a nice sunny day which gives you good direct sunlight rays.

Set the pan of water in direct sunlight. You can place it on a table or put it right down on the floor. Now with one hand hold the mirror under the water in the pan. Let the light that is reflected by the sun on to the mirror be caught on the paper that you hold in your other hand.

You will need to adjust the angles of both the  mirror under water and the paper above it till you see the visible spectrum of light on the paper. Then hold it steady and study the light reflected on the paper. It will look rather like a rainbow as the water has acted like a prism and separated the different wavelengths of light in this science experiment.