Spider Web and Water Droplets
November 28, 2009
Photographer: Jeanette Stafford
Summary Author: Jeanette Stafford; Jim Foster
Moisture from the morning mist condensed onto this spent spider web transforming it into a delicate crystal necklace, fit for a Fairy Queen. Notice that all of the droplets are nearly the same size, except where the silky strands split or droop -- top center, for example. Here the droplets are markedly larger. When the majority of droplets is quite small, approximately 0.1 mm or smaller, wave interference (light wave) increases, causing an overlap between light rays having different wavelengths. Thus, when minute droplets are observed it’s unlikely that colors will occur in the presence of sunlight. Photo taken in Bearsden, a suburb northwest of Glasgow, Scotland in April of 2006.
Bearsden coordinates: N55.941, W4.319
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