Why does spilt oil look multicoloured?
In: Chemistry
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.
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