Summary
Some of nature's brightest blues, greens and rainbows aren't made with paint at all -- they're made with light. Deep Look explores how tiny, perfectly arranged structures bend and bounce light to create shimmering colors on butterflies, beetles and birds.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Structural color comes from microscopic ridges and layers that reflect certain colors of light instead of using pigment. These shimmering colors can help animals attract mates, warn enemies or blend in -- color made by structure and light.
- How can an animal make color without any paint or pigment?
- What does light do when it hits these tiny structures?
- How might a bright, shimmering color help an animal survive?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: structural color, reflect, light, structure.
Try it: Tilt a soap bubble or a CD in the light and watch the colors shift. Write how tiny structures bounce light to make color.