Ready for a brighter tomorrow? Colours produced by a material's microstructure rather than its chemistry are promising to replace conventional paints and pigments paving the way for vividly coloured aircraft that never need repainting and much harder to forge banknotes. It's all part of a trend that began with the launch of "interference colours" for cars in the mid-1990s. These iridescent paints make the vehicles appear different colours from different angles, creating a dramatic effect as they drive by. The hues of most paints stem from chemistry. The pigment absorbs certain colours of light and reflects the rest, and it is the reflected colours that we see.
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