The Light-Absorbing Butterfly Wing

IN ORDER to reduce mankind’s dependence on fossil fuels, scientists are eager to improve the light-harvesting efficiency of solar collectors. “The solution to this problem,” said a scientist, “may have been . . . fluttering right in front of our eyes.”

Consider: To keep themselves warm during cold weather, butterflies spread their wings in the sun. The wings of some species of swallowtail are remarkably efficient at trapping and absorbing sunlight. The insects’ secret lies not just in their dark pigment but also in the structure of microscopic, overlapping scales coating their wings. The scales, in turn, contain rows of honeycomblike holes separated by inverse V-shaped ridges that funnel light into the holes. This ingenious structure traps incoming sunlight, making the wings extremely black and warming the butterfly with amazing efficiency.

“Butterfly wings may rank among the most delicate structures in nature,” says Science Daily, “but they have given researchers powerful inspiration for new technology that doubles the production of hydrogen gas—a green fuel of the future—from water and sunlight.” Other promising applications include optical instruments and solar cells.

Scales on the butterfly’s wing have honeycomblike holes

The Lantern of the Photuris Firefly

THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!

An Overview of Indonesia

Land Straddling the equator between Australia and continental Asia, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. Most of its more than 17,500 islands feature rugged mountains and dense tropical forests. With more than 100 active volcanoes, it is also the most active volcanic region on earth.

PORTRAITS FROM THE PASTIgnaz Semmelweis

IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS may not be a household name, yet his work has benefited most modern families. Born in Buda (now Budapest), Hungary, he received his medical degree at the University of Vienna in 1844. On taking up his post as assistant to a professor at the First Maternity Clinic of Vienna’s General Hospital in 1846, Semmelweis faced an appalling reality —more than 13 percent of the women giving birth there died from a disease called childbed fever. Various theories as to the cause of this disease had been proposed, yet no one had solved the mystery. All attempts to reduce the mortality rate proved futile. Troubled by the spectacle of numerous mothers suffering a slow, agonizing death, Semmelweis determined to find the cause of the disease and prevent it.

Rielyn Co

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