Refraction Action
Nate Miller
Award: Top 100
School: evanston township high school
Teacher: daniel dubrow
Category: Contrived
Photo #21105
Refraction Action
The rainbow patterns come from diffraction. There are tiny grooves on the surface of the disc that act like a diffraction breeding ground, breaking white light into different wavelengths, which are interpreted by the eye as color.. The colorful bands are caused by the fact that each wavelength defracts at a slightly different angle.
The colorful colors are caused by the dome shaped droplets acting like magnifying glasses on the DVD, enhancing the colors and scattering the light. The droplets scatter the light on the groove-filled DVD, producing concentrated reflections and colors inside each drop.
The brain is wired to prioritize edges and luminescence, and contrast of textures (glossy DVD on soft feathers) is pleasing to it. Texture contrast is essentially a difference in how surfaces near each other reflect light. The smooth texture of the DVD creates specular reflection by reflecting light directly, while the rougher texture of feathers creates diffuse reflection by scattering light indirectly.
The combination of the defraction of light on the DVD and the contrast in textures create an image pleasing to the eyes of viewers and pleasing to the minds of physicists.
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