Amy’s Iridescent Rainbow Paper

Materials Needed

Bowl or container of water (not a bowl for food!)
Clear nail polish
Black card stock or construction paper (or a heavyweight black paper)

Presented by: Amy Brunolli: STEAM Ambassador

Instructions

Using nail polish with black card stock paper, learn about film interference. The thin film created by the nail polish changes the way light waves are reflected off the card stock, letting us see an array of colors. As with most experiments, it is recommended that you work in an area that you can get messy!

DIRECTIONS

1. Submerge the paper in the container of water.

2. Add a drop of nail polish to the water over the paper.

3. Quickly pull out the paper and set ona paper towel or paper plate to dry.

4. Consider the properties of the iridescent paper as a result of "thin film interference".