What term describes the appearance of colored light?

The term "chromatism" refers specifically to the phenomenon relating to the appearance of colors and colored light. In optics, chromatism often involves the dispersion of light, where different wavelengths are refracted by varying amounts when they pass through a prism or other optical medium. This results in the separation of white light into its constituent colors, creating a spectrum.

Chromatism emphasizes how light interacts with materials and can produce various colors based on the properties of the light and the medium, making it the appropriate term for describing the appearance of colored light. This concept is particularly relevant in optics, where understanding the behavior of light waves and their interaction with different materials is essential for applications like lens design and color correction.

In contrast, refraction and reflection are more concerned with the bending and bouncing of light, respectively, while diffraction addresses the spreading of light waves as they encounter obstacles or openings. None of these terms encapsulate the specific concept of seeing colors as effectively as chromatism does.