Iridescence: Nature's Spectacular Colors
An interview with physicist Peter Vukusic. Dr. Biology gets the
inside story about iridescent color, the science behind it, and believe it or
not a link between science, surfing and snowboarding that you may not thought
about.
Podcast content summary and time log for Volume
34 of Ask-a-Biologist. |
|
Peter Vukusic stands
in front of what appears to be an abstract piece of art, but is
actually a close-up view of a butterfly wing. |
|
Key words: SOLS, color, iridescence, light, physics, art, pointillism, George
Seurat, computers, butterflies, birds, surfing, snowboarding.
| Topic |
Time |
| Intro - |
00:00 |
| Iridescence - what is it ? |
01:27 |
| Nature and iridescence. |
02:53 |
| How is paint color different than iridescent color? |
03:47 |
| Paint and pigments |
03:47 |
| Iridescent color |
05:59 |
| Interference color - what is it [transverse waves] |
07:12 |
| Animals use interference color. [birds and butterflies] |
09:40 |
| Fundamentals of iridescence - layers, number of layers, and
thickness . |
10:28 |
| Why are iridescent colors brighter with more layers? |
11:06 |
| Iridescent layers act as amplifiers. [law of conservation of energy] |
11:49 |
| Seeing Color - color
energy and wavelength chart. |
13:03 |
| Cool models of butterfly wings. [magnification and resolution] |
13:35 |
| How did you make the models? |
15:43 |
|
What have we learned from the models? |
17:14 |
|
L'ORÉAL Art and Science of Color Prize |
17:59 |
| Iridescent lipstick. |
18:50 |
| Subtractive versus additive color mixing. [Green Morph
Butterfly] |
19:45 |
| Pointillism - French Painter George Seurat |
21:55 |
| Why do animals take the time and energy to make
iridescent colors? |
23:24 |
| Polarization |
25:00 |
| Where else are humans going to be able to use iridescent color? |
27:09 |
| Three Questions |
27:09 |
| When did you first know you wanted to be a scientist - what was the
spark? |
29:33 |
What would you do if you were not a scientist?
[science, snow boarding, and surfing] |
30:23 |
Advice for someone wanting to pursue a career in science
[follow your curiosity] |
31:51 |
| Sign-off and link to Vukusic web site [http://newton.ex.ac.uk/butterflies] |
33:32 |
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