Iridescence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Iridescence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the property of certain

surfaces that appear to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of
illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles,
butterfly wings and sea shells, as well as certain minerals. It is often
created by structural coloration (microstructures that interfere with
light).

Contents

Iridescence in soap bubbles

1 Etymology
2 Mechanisms
3 Examples
3.1 Animals
3.1.1 Arthropods and molluscs
3.1.2 Chordates
3.1.3 Meat
3.2 Minerals and compounds
3.3 Man made objects
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Etymology
The word iridescence is derived in part from the Greek word ris (gen. ridos), meaning rainbow,
and is combined with the Latin suffix -escent, meaning "having a tendency toward."[1] Iris in turn derives from
the goddess Iris of Greek mythology, who is the personification of the rainbow and acted as a messenger of the
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gods. Goniochromism is derived from the Greek words gonia, meaning "angle", and chroma, meaning "colour".

Mechanisms
Iridescence is an optical phenomenon of surfaces in which hue changes
with the angle of observation and the angle of illumination.[2][3] It is
often caused by multiple reflections from two or more semi-transparent
surfaces in which phase shift and interference of the reflections
modulates the incidental light (by amplifying or attenuating some
frequencies more than others).[2][4] 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 FabryProt 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,[5][6] or a wide range
of colours can be observed.[7]

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.

Iridescence can also be created by diffraction. This is found in items like

CDs, DVDs, or cloud iridescence.[8] 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 gratings on the surface, such as the long rows of cells in
striated muscle. 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
coloration due to plant pigments.[9][10][11]
In biological (and biomimetic) uses, colours produced other than with
An iridescent biofilm on the surface
pigments or dyes are called structural coloration. Microstructures, often
of a fishtank diffracts the reflected
multilayered, are used to produce bright but sometimes non-iridescent
light, displaying the entire spectrum
colours: quite elaborate arrangements are needed to avoid reflecting
of colours. Red is seen from longer
different colours in different directions. Structural coloration has been
angles of incidence than blue.
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.[12][13] It was later found that iridescence in the peacock is due to a complex
photonic crystal.[14]

Examples
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Animals
Arthropods and molluscs

The iridescent
exoskeleton of a golden
stag beetle

Structurally coloured
The inside surface of
wings of Morpho didius Haliotis iris, the paua
shell

Structurally coloured
wings of a Tachinid fly

Chordates
The feathers of birds such as kingfishers,[15] Birds-of-paradise,[16] hummingbirds, parrots, starlings,[17]
grackles, ducks, and peacocks[14] are iridescent. The lateral line on the Neon tetra is also iridescent.[5] A single
iridescent species of gecko, Cnemaspis kolhapurensis, was identified in India in 2009.[18] The tapetum lucidum,
present in the eyes of many vertebrates, is also iridescent.[19]

Both the body and the

train of the peacock are
iridescent

A catfish

The rainbow boa

Nicobar pigeon

Meat

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Iridescence in meat is
caused by light
diffraction on the
exposed muscle cells on
the meat surface.

Minerals and compounds

An ammolite gemstone
is a fossil ammonite.

A bismuth crystal with a Goethite, an iron(III)

thin iridescent layer of
oxide-hydroxide, from
bismuth oxide
Polk County, Arkansas

An engine oil spill

Cloud iridescence

Man made objects

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Pearlescent paint job on

a Toyota Supra car

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Playing surface of
a compact disc

iridescent glitter nail polish

Nanocellulose is sometimes iridescent, as are thin films of gasoline and some other hydrocarbons and alcohols
when floating on water.

See also
Anisotropy
Bioluminescence, irrespective of angle
Dichroic filter
Dichroism
Iridocyte
Labradorescence (Adularescence)
Opalescence
Structural color
Thin-film optics

References
1. "Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com.
2. Nano-optics in the biological world: beetles, butterflies, birds and moths
(http://mohan.mse.gatech.edu/publication/1999_Chem%20Rev_v99_p1935.pdf) Srinivasarao, M. (1999) Chemical
Reviews pp: 1935-1961
3. Physics of structural colours (http://www.iap.tuwien.ac.at/~GEBESHUBER/Structured-color-physics.pdf) Kinoshita, S.
et al (2008) Rep. Prog. Phys. 71: 076401
4. Iridescence: views from many angles (http://171.66.127.193/content/6/Suppl_2/S107.full) Meadows, M. et al. (2009) J.
R. Soc. Interface 6:S107-S113
5. Mechanism of variable structural colour in the neon tetra: quantitative evaluation of the Venetian blind model
(http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/8/54/56.long) Yoshioka, S. et al. (2011) J. Roy. Soc. Interface 8: 56 - 66
6. Pterin pigments amplify iridescent ultraviolet signal in males of the orange sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1560183/pdf/rspb20053216.pdf) Rutowski, RL et al. (2005) Proc. R.
Soc. B 272: 23292335
7. Gold bugs and beyond: a review of iridescence and structural colour mechanisms in beetles (Coleoptera)
(http://171.66.127.193/content/6/Suppl_2/S165.full) Saego, AE et al. (2009) J. R. Soc. Interface 6: S165-S184
8. Meteorology By Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison Director Cooperative
Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (Cimss) Steven A Ackerman, Steven A. Ackerman, John A. Knox -- Jones
and Bartlett Learning 2013 Page 173--175
9. Nature's palette: the science of plant colour. Lee, DW (2007) University of Chicago Press
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9. Nature's palette: the science of plant colour. Lee, DW (2007) University of Chicago Press
10. Iridescent flowers? Contribution of surface structures to optical signaling (http://www.rug.nl/research/plantecophysiology/_pdf/vanderkooietal2014_newphytologist.pdf) van der Kooi, CJ et al (2014) New Phytol 203: 667673
11. Is floral iridescence a biologically relevant cue in plantpollinator signaling?
(http://rugth30.phys.rug.nl/pdf/vdKooiDyerSt_NewPhytol2015.pdf) van der Kooi, CJ et al (2015) New Phytol 205: 18
20
12. Hooke, Robert. Micrographia. Chapter 36 ('Observ. XXXVI. Of Peacoks, Ducks, and Other Feathers of Changeable
Colours.')
13. Ball, Philip (May 2012). "Scientific American". Nature's Color Tricks 306 (5): 7479.
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0512-74. PMID 22550931. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
14. Coloration strategies in peacock feathers (http://www.pnas.org/content/100/22/12576.full) Zi, J et al (2003) Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. 100:1257612578
15. Kingfisher feathers colouration by pigments, spongy nanostructures and thin films
(http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/23/3960.full) Stavenga, D.G. et al. (2011) J. Exp. Biol. 214: 3960-3967
16. Dramatic colour changes in a bird of paradise caused by uniquely structured breast feather barbules
(http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royprsb/early/2010/12/11/rspb.2010.2293.full.pdf) Stavenga, D.G. et al.
(2010) Proc. Roy. Soc. B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2293
17. Plumage Reflectance and the Objective Assessment of Avian Sexual Dichromatism
(http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/303160?uid=3737760&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104689532611) Cuthill, I.C. et al.
(1999) Am. Nat. 153: 183-200
18. "New lizard species found in India". BBC Online. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
19. Engelking, Larry (2002). Review of Veterinary Physiology. Teton NewMedia. p. 90. ISBN 1893441695.

External links
A 2.2 MB GIF animation (http://astro.enscrennes.fr/funny_physics/morpho_anim_3.gif) of a morpho
butterfly showing iridescence
"Article on butterfly iridescence"
(http://www.physics.org/featuredetail.asp?NewsId=22)

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to Iridescence.

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