What overall effect does a prism have on white light?

A prism is designed to refract light, which means it bends light waves as they pass through the material. When white light, which is made up of various wavelengths corresponding to different colors, enters the prism, each wavelength is refracted by a different amount due to its unique index of refraction. This differential bending causes the white light to spread out into a spectrum of colors, typically observed as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, often remembered by the acronym ROYGBIV. The prism essentially separates the various components of white light, allowing us to see the individual colors that make it up. This phenomenon is a fundamental demonstration of the wave nature of light and the ways in which it can interact with different materials, leading to the conclusion that the primary effect of a prism on white light is the creation of a spectrum of colors.