The physical structure, optical mechanics and aesthetics of the peacock tail feathers

摘要

The peacock tail feathers have no flight or thermal function but have the sole purpose of providing an attractive display. The peacock tail produces colours by thin-film interference. There is a very high level of optimum design in the peacock feathers including optimum layer thickness, multi layers, precision coordination and dark background colour. This paper analyses the structure and beauty of the peacock tail.