What is an opal and what does it mean spiritually for the person who wears one? The name opal crystal is derived from the Latin word opalus, which means precious stone. Precious opals are the most ...

The gemstone opal could be manufactured synthetically copying a technique employed by a beetle to control the appearance of its outer shell. Researchers from the Department of Zoology at the ...

The illustrations at the top (steps A through D) depict the creation of 3-D "photonic crystals" to improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells, a technology that could bring low-cost solar energy.

Colloidal self-assembly has been investigated as a promising and practical approach for the fabrication of photonic nanostructures, including colloidal crystals, composite and inverse opals, and ...