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karthikaqpt writes:

Engineers at MIT and Penn State University have found that under the right conditions, ordinary clear water droplets on a transparent surface can produce brilliant colors, without the addition of inks or dyes. [...] The researchers have developed a model that predicts the color a droplet will produce, given specific structural and optical conditions. The model could be used as a design guide to produce, for example, droplet-based litmus tests, or color-changing powders and inks in makeup products.

https://news.mit.edu/2019/water-droplets-structural-color-0227

YouTube video

Colouration by total internal reflection and interference at microscale concave interfaces^$ (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-0946-4)

Original Submission