Why does spilt oil look multicoloured?

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Why does spilt oil look multicoloured?

In: Chemistry

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Thin film physics. From what I understand from highschool light can either reflect back when it hits the surface or pass through. If it passes through it will refract sightly as it goes through the thin film of oil and when it reaches the bottom part of the film, there it will reflect back up and hit the top of the film. It will either pass through or reflect back, if it passes through then since it refracted slightly the wavelength changes enough to change the colour. If it reflects it’ll reflect back down, refract a little and the cycle repeats slightly changing the wavelength thus giving us a rainbow of colours

Anonymous 0 Comments

Light travels like waves on water. The length between the tops of the waves can be thought of as what we as humans see as different colors.

The thickness of oil films on water has a thickness that is very thin at some places similar enough to the length between the wave tops off coloured light.

When the waves of the light interacts with the thin oil, the waves bounce in peculiar ways. This alters the length between the waves and the colors we see.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s pretty complicated, if your really curious I suggest you pick up a copy of Richard Feynmans QED. It busts it down for the layman without a background in calculus. For example instead of integrating complex numbers he explains it as spinning arrows. Its actually a really fascinating book, highly recommended.

To answer your question though the top surface and the bottom surface of the oil slick both reflect some light, if the thickness of the oil is just right the light cancels out. Different colors require different thickness of oil, the rainbow is created due to varying thicknesses. The mechanics of it all is in the book I mentioned.

Anonymous 0 Comments

I refer the honorable member to the answer I gave a few weeks ago.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dp70te/eli5_why_do_oil_slicks_appear_rainbow/](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dp70te/eli5_why_do_oil_slicks_appear_rainbow/)