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Photonic engineering

Aphrodite's iridescence

Nature volume 409, pages 36–37 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The most intense colours displayed in nature result from either multilayer reflectors or linear diffraction gratings1,2,3. Here we investigate the spectacular iridescence of a spine (notoseta) from the sea mouse Aphrodita sp. (Polychaeta: Aphroditidae). The spine normally appears to be deep red in colour, but when light is incident perpendicular to the axis of the spine, different colours are seen as stripes running parallel to the axis of the spine; over a range of smaller incident angles, the complete visible spectrum is reflected with a reflectivity of 100% to the human eye. The simple structure responsible for this effect is a remarkable example of photonic engineering by a living organism.

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Figure 1: Structure and optical properties of a sea mouse hair from Palm Beach, New South Wales, Australia.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK

    Andrew R. Parker

  2. School of Physics, University of Sydney, 2006, New South Wales, Australia

    Ross C. McPhedran, David R. McKenzie & Nicolae-Alexandru P. Nicorovici

  3. School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, 2007, New South Wales, Australia

    Lindsay C. Botten

Authors
  1. Andrew R. Parker
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  2. Ross C. McPhedran
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  3. David R. McKenzie
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  4. Lindsay C. Botten
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  5. Nicolae-Alexandru P. Nicorovici
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ross C. McPhedran.

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Parker, A., McPhedran, R., McKenzie, D. et al. Aphrodite's iridescence. Nature 409, 36–37 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35051168

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