Researchers develop new material that changes colours like neon tetra fish

Researchers at the North Carolina State University have developed a new material that is inspired by nature and is capable of changing colour.

The colour-changing material is inspired by the flashing colours of the neon tetra fish, 150sec.com reports. The material relies on the use of a magnetic field which changes the orientation of a formation of nanocolumns.

The material has four layers incorporating silicon substrate coated with a polymer which had been embedded with iron oxide nanoparticles.

It consists of a regular array of micron-wide pedestals that results in the polymer layer resembling a Lego brick.

By changing the angle of the columns, the wavelength of light shifts that is most strongly reflected by the material. In practical terms, the material changes colour. The camouflaging technology can have a potential military use case.