(2) Dispersion light Explanation: The refractive index of many materials (such as glass) varies with the wavelength or colour of the light used, a phenomenon known as dispersion. This causes light of different colours to be refracted differently and to leave the prism at different angles, creating an effect similar to a rainbow. In optics, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency, or alternatively when the group velocity depends on the frequency.