IMAGE/NANO-Optics
Morpho peleides Wing "Color"
The wings of the Morpho peleides butterfly displays a metallic-like, shimmering shade of blue and green. This color, however, is not a result of pigmentation but is rather iridescent color. The extremely fine lamellated scales covering the Morpho's wings reflect incident light repeatedly at successive layers, leading to interference effects that depend on both the wavelength and angle of incidence/observance. Thus the colors produced vary with viewing angle. The interference of light due to multiple reflection within the highly uniform structural arrangement of the scales gives the butterfly its fantastic color (the periodicity of the resulting unit cells can be considered a two-dimensional photonic crystal).
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