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I. Gebeshuber:
"The physics of structural colours";
Vortrag: Science Jour Fix, Wiener Neustadt/NÖ; 09.05.2008.

Beetles whiter than white, insects with metallic colours and butterflies with coloured wings
that seem to shine by themselves, even in low light conditions - structural colours are
omnipresent in biology. As opposed to pigment colours, structural colours are caused by the
interaction of light with micro- and nanoscopic structural features of the biological material:
total reflection, spectral interference, scattering, and, to some extent, polychromatic
diffraction, all familiar in reference to inanimate objects, are also encountered among tissues
of living forms, most commonly in animals.
The physical principles of the generation of structural colours will be reviewed, various
examples from the animated world will be given and possible applications of biomimetic
colours in man-made devices such as humidity sensors and allergy control fabrics (keyword
smart colours) will be discussed.

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