| Glass scales on the wing of the swordtail butterfly Graphium sarpedon act as thin film polarizing reflectors. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22279073 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The wings of the swordtail butterfly Graphium sarpedon (the Common Bluebottle) have blue/green-colored patches that are covered on the underside by two types of scales: white and glass scales. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the white scales are classically structured: the upper lamina, with prominent ridges and large open windows, is well separated by trabeculae from a flat, continuous lower lamina. In the glass scales, the upper lamina, with inconspicuous ridges and windows, is almost flat and closely apposed to the equally flat lower lamina. The glass scales thus approximate ideal thin films, in agreement with the observation that they reflect light directionally and are iridescent. Reflectance and transmittance spectra measured from the glass scales with a microspectrophotometer agree with spectra calculated for an ideal non-absorbing thin film. Imaging scatterometry of single, isolated glass scales demonstrated that the reflected light can be strongly polarized, indicating that they function as polarizing reflectors. |
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Authors:
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Doekele G Stavenga; Atsuko Matsushita; Kentaro Arikawa; Hein L Leertouwer; Bodo D Wilts |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The Journal of experimental biology Volume: 215 ISSN: 1477-9145 ISO Abbreviation: J. Exp. Biol. Publication Date: 2012 Feb |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-01-26 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0243705 Medline TA: J Exp Biol Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 657-62 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, NL9747AG, The Netherlands. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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