Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are studying light diffusion by looking closely at one tiny, ocean-dwelling creature: the clusterwink snail. When threatened, this sea snail flashes green bioluminescence, scaring away crabs and other potential predators.
Interestingly, when the clusterwink is not in self-defense mode, it has an opaque shell "that would seem to stifle light transmission. But in fact when the snail produces green bioluminescence from its body, the shell acts as a mechanism to specifically disperse only that particular color of light."
What does this mean for us? Well, we're not sure yet, but researchers believe it could lead to breakthroughs in the optics industry.
Phys Org, via io9
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