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Femtosecond Lasers Used To Color Metals

Posted by kdawson on from the gold-ring-to-match-her-eyes dept.

Maximum Prophet writes "An optics professor and a postgrad have developed a way to use ultra-short pulses of laser light to etch nano features into the surface of metals so that they can absorb or reflect specific wavelengths of light. This is very similar to the way that butterflies get the color in their wings."

2 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hmm good bye automotive paint?? by psbrogna · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It might be cheaper given the cost of disposing of hazardous waste associated with conventional painting processes.

  2. Re:Hmm good bye automotive paint?? by djlemma · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have to wonder how difficult it would be to rub off the outer layer of the metal that's causing the wavelength modifications.. The article implies that the laser is modifying the metal at an atomic level, and I can't imagine it'd be too tough to scrape a few atoms off the surface of an aluminum body panel. What happens when a bird poops on the hood of your laser-colored car? Or worse, when some road tar gets splattered onto your front bumper. Normally, cleaning these up involves solvents and scrubbing, and I don't imagine that bare metal would withstand that combination all that well over time.