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Iridescence
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== Mechanisms == [[File:Dieselrainbow.jpg|thumb|Fuel on top of water creates a thin film, which interferes with the light, producing different colours. The different bands represent different thicknesses in the film. This phenomenon is known as [[thin-film interference]]. ]] {{further|Structural coloration|thin-film interference|diffraction}} Iridescence is an [[optical phenomenon]] of surfaces in which [[hue]] changes with the angle of observation and the angle of illumination.<ref name="srinivasarao">{{cite journal |last1=Srinivasarao |first1=Mohan |title=Nano-Optics in the Biological World: Beetles, Butterflies, Birds, and Moths |journal=Chemical Reviews |date=July 1999 |volume=99 |issue=7 |pages=1935–1962 |doi=10.1021/cr970080y |pmid=11849015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kinoshita |first1=S |last2=Yoshioka |first2=S |last3=Miyazaki |first3=J |s2cid=53068819 |title=Physics of structural colors |journal=Reports on Progress in Physics |date=1 July 2008 |volume=71 |issue=7 |pages=076401 |doi=10.1088/0034-4885/71/7/076401 |bibcode=2008RPPh...71g6401K }}</ref> It is often caused by multiple reflections from two or more semi-transparent surfaces in which [[phase (waves)|phase shift]] and [[Interference (wave propagation)|interference]] of the reflections [[amplitude modulation|modulates]] the incidental [[light]], by amplifying or attenuating some frequencies more than others.<ref name="srinivasarao" /><ref name="meadows">{{cite journal |last1=Meadows |first1=Melissa G |last2=Butler |first2=Michael W |last3=Morehouse |first3=Nathan I |last4=Taylor |first4=Lisa A |last5=Toomey |first5=Matthew B |last6=McGraw |first6=Kevin J |last7=Rutowski |first7=Ronald L |title=Iridescence: views from many angles |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |date=23 February 2009 |volume=6 |issue=suppl_2 |pages=S107-13 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2009.0013.focus |pmid=19336343 |pmc=2706472 }}</ref> The thickness of the layers of the material determines the interference pattern. Iridescence can for example be due to [[thin-film interference]], the functional analogue of selective wavelength attenuation as seen with the [[Fabry–Pérot interferometer]], and can be seen in oil films on water and soap bubbles. Iridescence is also found in plants, animals and many other items. The range of colours of natural iridescent objects can be narrow, for example shifting between two or three colours as the viewing angle changes,<ref name="yoshioka">{{cite journal |last1=Yoshioka |first1=S. |last2=Matsuhana |first2=B. |last3=Tanaka |first3=S. |last4=Inouye |first4=Y. |last5=Oshima |first5=N. |last6=Kinoshita |first6=S. |title=Mechanism of variable structural colour in the neon tetra: quantitative evaluation of the Venetian blind model |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |date=16 June 2010 |volume=8 |issue=54 |pages=56–66 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2010.0253 |pmid=20554565 |pmc=3024824 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rutowski |first1=R.L |last2=Macedonia |first2=J.M |last3=Morehouse |first3=N |last4=Taylor-Taft |first4=L |title=Pterin pigments amplify iridescent ultraviolet signal in males of the orange sulphur butterfly |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=2 September 2005 |volume=272 |issue=1578 |pages=2329–2335 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3216 |pmid=16191648 |pmc=1560183 }}</ref> [[File:Iridescent biofilm on a fishtank.JPG|thumb|left|An iridescent [[biofilm]] on the surface of a fish tank diffracts the reflected light, displaying the entire spectrum of colours. Red is seen from longer angles of incidence than blue.]] Iridescence can also be created by [[diffraction]]. This is found in items like CDs, DVDs, some types of [[Prism (optics)|prism]]s, or [[cloud iridescence]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ackerman |first1=Steven A. |last2=Knox |first2=John A. |title=Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere |date=2013 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |isbn=978-1-284-03080-8 |pages=173–175 }}</ref> In the case of diffraction, the entire rainbow of colours will typically be observed as the viewing angle changes. In biology, this type of iridescence results from the formation of [[diffraction grating]]s on the surface, such as the long rows of cells in [[striated muscle]], or the specialized abdominal scales of [[peacock spider]] ''Maratus robinsoni'' and ''M. chrysomelas''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hsiung |first1=Bor-Kai |last2=Siddique |first2=Radwanul Hasan |last3=Stavenga |first3=Doekele G. |last4=Otto |first4=Jürgen C. |last5=Allen |first5=Michael C. |last6=Liu |first6=Ying |last7=Lu |first7=Yong-Feng |last8=Deheyn |first8=Dimitri D. |last9=Shawkey |first9=Matthew D. |last10=Blackledge |first10=Todd A. |title=Rainbow peacock spiders inspire miniature super-iridescent optics |journal=Nature Communications |date=22 December 2017 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=2278 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-02451-x |pmid=29273708 |pmc=5741626 |bibcode=2017NatCo...8.2278H }}</ref> Some types of flower petals can also generate a diffraction grating, but the iridescence is not visible to humans and flower-visiting insects as the diffraction signal is masked by the colouration due to [[plant pigments]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=David |title=Nature's Palette: The Science of Plant Color |date=2007 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-47052-8 }}{{pn|date=June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=van der Kooi |first1=Casper J. |last2=Wilts |first2=Bodo D. |last3=Leertouwer |first3=Hein L. |last4=Staal |first4=Marten |last5=Elzenga |first5=J. Theo M. |last6=Stavenga |first6=Doekele G. |title=Iridescent flowers? Contribution of surface structures to optical signaling |journal=New Phytologist |date=July 2014 |volume=203 |issue=2 |pages=667–673 |doi=10.1111/nph.12808 |pmid=24713039 |url=https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/16807700/vanderKooi_Etal2014_NewPhytologist.pdf |doi-access=free |bibcode=2014NewPh.203..667V }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=van der Kooi |first1=Casper J. |last2=Dyer |first2=Adrian G. |last3=Stavenga |first3=Doekele G. |title=Is floral iridescence a biologically relevant cue in plant-pollinator signaling? |journal=New Phytologist |date=January 2015 |volume=205 |issue=1 |pages=18–20 |doi=10.1111/nph.13066 |pmid=25243861 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015NewPh.205...18V }}</ref> In biological (and [[biomimetic]]) uses, colours produced other than with [[pigment]]s or [[dye]]s are called [[structural colouration]]<!-- -or- is UK spelling here -->. Microstructures, often multi-layered, are used to produce bright but sometimes non-iridescent colours: quite elaborate arrangements are needed to avoid reflecting different colours in different directions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hsiung |first1=Bor-Kai |last2=Siddique |first2=Radwanul Hasan |last3=Jiang |first3=Lijia |last4=Liu |first4=Ying |last5=Lu |first5=Yongfeng |last6=Shawkey |first6=Matthew D. |last7=Blackledge |first7=Todd A. |title=Tarantula-Inspired Noniridescent Photonics with Long-Range Order |journal=Advanced Optical Materials |date=January 2017 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=1600599 |doi=10.1002/adom.201600599 |doi-access= |s2cid=100181186 |url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8550548/file/8651402 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Structural colouration has been understood in general terms since [[Robert Hooke]]'s 1665 book ''[[Micrographia]]'', where Hooke correctly noted that since the iridescence of a [[peacock]]'s feather was lost when it was plunged into water, but reappeared when it was returned to the air, pigments could not be responsible.<ref name=HookeOnPeacockIridescence>Hooke, Robert. Micrographia. Chapter 36 ('Observ. XXXVI. ''Of Peacoks, Ducks, and Other Feathers of Changeable Colours''.')</ref><ref name=Ball>{{cite journal |last1=Ball |first1=Philip |title=Nature's Color Tricks |journal=Scientific American |date=17 April 2012 |volume=306 |issue=5 |pages=74–79 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0512-74 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |pmid=22550931 |bibcode=2012SciAm.306e..74B }}</ref> It was later found that iridescence in the peacock is due to a complex [[photonic crystal]].<ref name="peacock">{{cite journal |last1=Zi |first1=Jian |last2=Yu |first2=Xindi |last3=Li |first3=Yizhou |last4=Hu |first4=Xinhua |last5=Xu |first5=Chun |last6=Wang |first6=Xingjun |last7=Liu |first7=Xiaohan |last8=Fu |first8=Rongtang |title=Coloration strategies in peacock feathers |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |date=28 October 2003 |volume=100 |issue=22 |pages=12576–12578 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2133313100 |pmid=14557541 |pmc=240659 |bibcode=2003PNAS..10012576Z |doi-access=free }}</ref>
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