Applied physics as art: Spray-paint ultrathin coatings change color with only a few atoms' difference in thickness
Monday, October 15, 2012 - 09:02
in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers have demonstrated a new way to customize the color of metal surfaces by exploiting a completely overlooked optical phenomenon. For centuries it was thought that thin-film interference effects, such as those that cause oily pavements to reflect a rainbow of swirling colors, could not occur in opaque materials. However, even very "lossy" thin films, if atomically thin, can be tailored to reflect a particular range of dramatic and vivid colors.