Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Optical Phenomena In Diatoms, Richard B. Hoover, Miriam J. Hoover

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Diatoms are unicellular algae which fabricate siliceous shells that are frequently marked with intricate ornamentations and patterns. The nature and characteristics of the siliceous shells provide a basis for diatom taxonomy and give rise to a number of interesting and colorful optical phenomena. This paper presents the results of investigations of diffraction phenomena, complementary color behavior, Rayleigh scattering and optical activity in diatoms.