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What is the optical principle behind the colorful iridescent effect of the curtain wall made of tempered glass from Foshan tempered glass factory?

Release time:

Mar 14,2025

　　Thin Film Interference

　　Basic Principle: When light shines on the surface of colorful glass, due to the extremely thin film layer on the glass surface (which can be formed by the special structure of the glass itself, or by later plating), the light is reflected on the upper and lower surfaces of the film layer. These two reflected beams meet the coherent conditions (same frequency, constant phase difference, same vibration direction). When these two reflected beams meet in space, interference will occur.

　　Color Generation: Different colors of light have different wavelengths. For a film of a certain thickness, at a certain angle of incidence, only light of certain wavelengths satisfies the condition of constructive interference, and the colors corresponding to these wavelengths will be enhanced and presented, while light of other wavelengths will be weakened due to destructive interference. For example, if the film thickness causes red light to interfere constructively, then the glass surface will appear reddish; as the observation angle changes, the propagation path of light in the film changes, and the wavelength of light satisfying constructive interference also changes, so the color also changes.

　　Refraction and Dispersion

　　Refraction: When light enters glass from air, refraction occurs. The optical structure of colorful glass causes light of different colors (frequencies) to have different angles of refraction during refraction. This is because the refractive index of glass is different for different frequencies of light. According to Snell's Law (n1sinθ1=n2sinθ2) (where n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of the two media, θ1 and θ2 are the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction), the angle of refraction is different for different frequencies of light at the same angle of incidence, causing the propagation direction of light of different colors to differ inside the glass.

　　Dispersion Effect: The difference in the angle of refraction of light of different colors accumulates to produce the dispersion phenomenon. When light exits the glass and re-enters the air, light of different colors is further separated, similar to how a prism decomposes white light into seven colors of light, forming an iridescent effect on the glass surface. Moreover, the complex structure inside the colorful glass refracts and disperses light multiple times, making the final iridescent effect richer and more gorgeous.

　　Diffraction

　　Structural Conditions: The surface or interior of colorful glass may have some subtle periodic structures, such as nanometer-scale textures or lattice structures. The Size of these structures is close to the wavelength of light. When light shines on glass with this structure, diffraction occurs.

　　Diffraction Pattern and Color: When light encounters an obstacle (here referring to the subtle structures in the glass), it deviates from its straight propagation path and bends around into the shadow of the obstacle. Light of different wavelengths forms different diffraction patterns during diffraction. Under certain conditions, these diffraction patterns overlap, causing light of specific wavelengths to be enhanced in certain directions, thus exhibiting an iridescent effect. As the observation angle and the angle of illumination change, the diffraction pattern and the wavelength of the enhanced light also change, leading to dynamic changes in the iridescent effect.

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