July 4, 2025 5:07 PM
How tiny plastic beads are helping scientists create colour-shifting materials
A team of researchers in Bengaluru has discovered a way to create tunable colour-shifting surfaces inspired by nature’s vibrant displays—like the feathers of a peacock or the wings of a butterfly. At the core of this breakthrough is a phenomenon known as structural coloration, where colours are produced not by pigments but by the physical structure of a surface that interacts with light. The study, carried out at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous institute ...