How Noniridescent Colors Are Generated by Quasi‐ordered Structures of Bird Feathers
- 20 July 2010
- journal article
- other
- Published by Wiley in Advanced Materials
- Vol. 22 (26-27), 2871-2880
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200903699
Abstract
We investigate the mechanism of structural coloration by quasi‐ordered nanostructures in bird feather barbs. Small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) data reveal the structures are isotropic and have short‐range order on length scales comparable to optical wavelengths. We perform angle‐resolved reflection and scattering spectrometry to fully characterize the colors under directional and omni‐directional illumination of white light. Under directional lighting, the colors change with the angle between the directions of illumination and observation. The angular dispersion of the primary peaks in the scattering/reflection spectra can be well explained by constructive interference of light that is scattered only once in the quasi‐ordered structures. Using the Fourier power spectra of structure from the SAXS data we calculate optical scattering spectra and explain why the light scattering peak is the highest in the backscattering direction. Under omni‐directional lighting, colors from the quasi‐ordered structures are invariant with the viewing angle. The non‐iridescent coloration results from the isotropic nature of structures instead of strong backscattering.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Self-assembly of amorphous biophotonic nanostructures by phase separationSoft Matter, 2009
- Development of colour-producing β-keratin nanostructures in avian feather barbsJournal of The Royal Society Interface, 2009
- Electron tomography, three-dimensional Fourier analysis and colour prediction of a three-dimensional amorphous biophotonic nanostructureJournal of The Royal Society Interface, 2009
- Physics of structural colorsReports on Progress in Physics, 2008
- Mechanisms of evolutionary change in structural plumage coloration among bluebirds (Sialiaspp.)Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 2006
- Structural Colors in Nature: The Role of Regularity and Irregularity in the StructureChemphyschem, 2005
- The anatomical basis of sexual dichromatism in non-iridescent ultraviolet-blue structural coloration of feathersBiological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005
- Structural colours from the feathers of the birdBostrychia hagedashJournal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2004
- A Fourier Tool for the Analysis of Coherent Light Scattering by Bio-Optical NanostructuresIntegrative and Comparative Biology, 2003
- Visible and UV coloration in birds: Mie scattering as the basis of color in many bird feathersThe Science of Nature, 1995