Dispersion refers to the process of spreading or scattering something over a wide area. In physics, dispersion refers to the separation of light into its different colors, which is caused by the different wavelengths of light being refracted at different angles as they pass through a medium such as a prism or a raindrop. In chemistry, dispersion can refer to the mixing of particles of one substance throughout another substance, such as the dispersion of oil droplets in water. In statistics, dispersion refers to the degree of variation or spread of a set of data, such as the range, variance, or standard deviation.