Colors on the Facade of an Office Building

July 29, 2014

M2 D Medihaf 22Ring 054 - det1 (1)

Photographer: Hans Juergen Heyen
Summary Authors: Hans Juergen Heyen; Jim Foster
 
InsertShown above is the shimmering facade of a modern office building in Dusseldorf, Germany. Recently, I took a photo trip in the harbor of Dusseldorf and noticed these pastel colors that could be detected when observing from certain viewpoints. The colors result from scattering processes, but they're not associated with moirĂ© patterns. Diffraction grating may be involved here. The slats on the facade are too widely spaced to have an effect, but perhaps machining or extrusion grooves on the slats themselves play a role. Because the metallic, corrugated structures on the facade are only in line or out of line with sunlight periodically, the conditions that permit transmission of the colors also only occur periodically. Photos taken in late June 2014.

Photo Details: Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ200; Focal Length: 15.5mm (35mm equivalent: 89mm); Aperture: f/7.1; Exposure Time: 0.0008 s (1/1300); ISO equiv: 100; Software: Microsoft Windows Photo Gallery 6.0.6001.18000.    

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