color/angle explanation

[kfisc]

I haven't found any threads that discuss the technical/scientific explanation for why tridacnids appear to change color when viewed from side to top- anyone know? thanks-

 

[llamart]

I've never seen anything on it. Its like the ink on a $20 dollar bill. Maybe the texture of the mantle is so rigid at the micoscopic level that it refract's light? No clue.

 

[Barry N.]

Kind of like seeing a rainbow. When viewed from the side it will be a different sector of the spectrum that will be reflected.

Here is the same clam taken from the top looking down and the second one is viewed through the glass.

Hope this helps.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-4/695709/Crocea22.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-4/695709/Crocea23.jpg

 

[jedininja]

Its actually not just clams, but most corals will look different through the glass and through the top of the water. Its really just all physics. When light passes though an object such as glass or water, it is refracted (bent) so for every surface that the light goes through, the angle and color that you see the light will vary.

 

[kfisc]

thanks- awesome crocea, Barry- what's puzzling is exactly the kind of angles, surfaces etc. through which the light refracts, especially in clam mantles; surely there's a marine biology ph.d. who passed that same question past his committee back in school- interesting, interesting.....

 

[sonic]

true that everything looks different when viewed form the top, but how about looking through starfire or acrylic?

 

[jedininja]

looking through starfire and acrylic and each one will give you a slightly different color. But it wont be as dramatic as looking through the top vs looking through the glass. It will only be slightly off from glass.