Metamaterials

John Pendry of Imperial College London explains how the wing structure of the Blue Adonis butterfly inspired and informed his cutting-edge research into 'metamaterials'.

Organisms such as the Blue Adonis possess unique microstructures on their wing surface which diffract blue light and lend them their iridescent blue appearance. In a similar way, metamaterials are being built from modified microstructures and components smaller than the wavelength of the light. By bending light around objects they are being used in the development of new materials including the world’s first invisibility cloak.