Terms to describe these patterns

[Vectory]

Or provide any additional information or resources about them?

I'm thinking about how light would react when passing through certain substance/or geometric medium

3 concepts come to mind when considering the idea

1 the light (beam, frequency notwithstanding) enters a prism and is reflected and separated into several different angles within the translucent object but does not continue outward from it

2 the light enters spectroscope as single beam and is refracted and redirected throughout and continues traveling as a single beam afterwards

3 the light enters disperser and propagates as with other concepts but produces an outcome of several to many beams all going in separate directions

 

[AJ Bentley]

Isaac Newton did some studies on this topic. You might find some information on Google if you look up the term 'refraction of light'