What phenomenon describes the separation of light into different colors?

The correct answer is dispersion, which refers to the phenomenon where light is separated into its constituent colors when it passes through a medium. This occurs because different wavelengths of light are refracted at different angles when they enter or exit a material, such as a prism. As a result, white light can be split to reveal a spectrum of colors, typically seen as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

This effect is particularly noticeable with transparent materials, which causes the colors to spread out and become distinct from one another. A common example of dispersion in action is when sunlight passes through rain droplets in the atmosphere, producing a rainbow.

Refraction, while related, specifically refers to the bending of light as it travels from one medium to another, without necessarily separating the colors. Reflection involves light bouncing off a surface and does not contribute to color separation. Diffraction is the bending and spreading of waves around obstacles or through openings, but it does not specifically pertain to the separation of colors as dispersion does.