Desk Optics

Long time readers of this blog know I'm fascinated by optical phenomena, especially those which exhibit color effects. Because of this interest I tend to notice things that many (most) folks would ignore.

And I label these posts under "Things that Probably Only Interest Me" for no doubt good reason. But It's my blog, so here we go!

Like many people my age, I grew up listening to LP records. Unlike many (so I surmise) I still have a turntable. Although it may be obvious that it doesn't get much use these days.

Clearly I'm not one of those vinyl hipsters.

But what caught my attention one morning as I was sitting down to start my work day was how colorful my previously black turntable had become.

I wonder if the box of (physics) books sitting on it stresses the plastic, resulting in the colors.

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I have a clear plastic holder for small square note paper. And one morning a few months ago I noticed just a hint of color on my desk.

Moving the holder did not significantly enhance the colors. So I tried putting a piece of plain white paper down on the desk.

And the colors vanished. I do not know what is going on here. We have sunlight streaming through a double pane window, then through a cube shaped plastic paper holder, onto a wooden desk top.

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Lastly (for this blog post anyway) I spotted these colors on the other side of my desk, in the late afternoon light.

This 'zoomed' out view shows the light source, a windowed door. While hard to see, the door is made of different glass sections, which act as prisms. No mystery as to the source of the color in this case.

🌈  🌈  🌈  🌈  🌈

Another benefit of working from home is I see these things. My desk in the company's office has no nearby windows. And only boring overhead florescent lights. Nothing to challenge my imagination nor spark my wonder.