Glossary · Minerals
Iridescence
Rainbow colours from interference of light in a thin film or a layered structure: the tarnish on chalcopyrite, the nacre of shell and ammolite, the opalescence of precious opal (which is diffraction from silica spheres).
Rainbow colours from interference of light in a thin film or a layered structure: the tarnish on chalcopyrite, the nacre of shell and ammolite, the opalescence of precious opal (which is diffraction from silica spheres).
Sources
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Iridescence" (Glossary). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-16. https://stratum.black/study/glossary/iridescence. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-iridescence,
title = {Iridescence},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/glossary/iridescence}},
year = {2026},
note = {Glossary article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-16; sources: stratum. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.