MIT scientists create color-changing film inspired by 19th century holography
Real-time video recording an 8×6-inch stretch of structural color pattern featuring a wreath in homage to the work of 19th century physicist Gabriel Lippmann. Real-time video recording an 8×6-inch stretch of structural color pattern featuring a wreath in homage to the work of 19th century physicist Gabriel Lippmann. The bright colors in butterfly wings or beetle shells come not from any pigment molecules, but from how they are structured—a naturally occurring example of what physicists call photonic crystals. Scientists can manufacture their own structurally colored materials in the laboratory, but it can be a challenge to scale up the process for commercial applications without compromising optical precision. Now MIT scientists have adapted 19th-century holographic photography techniques to develop a chameleon-like film that changes color when stretched. This method can be easily scaled while maintaining nanoscale optical precision. They describe their work in a new pap