Just as a preliminary note, it looks like I'm cleared for the time, but I'm in line after a few of the physicists that were bumped ahead of me. I should be able to get the experiments run sometime next week.
The structure of the materials strikes me more as a cholesteric system rather than a diffraction system or a scale layering system as the light is reflected and polarized to a significant degree. The high birefringence also leads me to believe that the structure is quite close to that of the system developed by scarabeid beetles.
I'm curious if the polarized response is viewing-angle dependent. You mentioned before that in one case it is, but in the case of the samples you sent me, it's difficult to tell on my PLM. If there is, that would also indicate an ordered system that should be similar to cholesterics.
Hopefully sometime this coming Wednesday I'll be able to score some TEM and SEM time for the following week so I can check to see if it's what I think it is and (if it is) how tight the helix is.
The only discrepency from my current theory is that you mentioned before that there is a strong UV reflection response, but I don't pick that up in the molt, or at least, it's too small for me to notice.
Hopefully I'll have this myustery solved in a couple of months - or at least I'll have something worth publishing in a journal for you.
Needless to say, I may have to ask your permission to possibly publish this in one of the major LC journals should this turn out to be more fascinating than I find it to be at the moment.
If you have any references you could pass on to me with regards to all the background regarding this research that you've done, I would really apprecaite it. I need as much background into the phenomenon as I can get from your group. My new 'pet project' has piqued the interest of many people...
