This Ain't No Disco
Actually it is the plastic cover for a diamond saw blade made by Dico Inc. I put it between two crossed polarizing filters and set the whole thing on a light table. The colors come about because the plastic is birefringent which is a fancy way of saying birefractent. Meaning the plastic has two different indices of refraction. When polarized light travels through the plastic, one wave is delayed relative to the other. When the waves meet at the surface they combine slightly out of phase and the resulting interference causes various colors.
I'm sure the real explanation involves quantum mechanics so I'll never understand what's really going on.
Cheers.
This Ain't No Disco
Actually it is the plastic cover for a diamond saw blade made by Dico Inc. I put it between two crossed polarizing filters and set the whole thing on a light table. The colors come about because the plastic is birefringent which is a fancy way of saying birefractent. Meaning the plastic has two different indices of refraction. When polarized light travels through the plastic, one wave is delayed relative to the other. When the waves meet at the surface they combine slightly out of phase and the resulting interference causes various colors.
I'm sure the real explanation involves quantum mechanics so I'll never understand what's really going on.
Cheers.