X-rays reveal the photonic crystals in butterfly wings that create color

Monday, June 13, 2016 - 17:01 in Physics & Chemistry

When you look very close up at a butterfly wing, you can see this patchwork map of lattices with slightly different orientations (colors added to illustrate the domains). Scientists used X-rays to discover what creates one butterfly effect: how the microscopic structures on the insect's wings reflect light to appear as brilliant colors to the eye.

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