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Chapter 21: Problem 73

After heating, a metal surface (such as that of a cooking pan or skillet) develops a color pattern like an oil slick on water. Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The color patterns on heated metal surfaces are due to the combined effect of thermal oxidation and thin film interference. The heating process forms a thin oxide layer over the metal surface which varies in thickness across its area. The different thicknesses of this oxide layer result in different colors being enhanced when light reflects off the layer due to thin film interference.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Thermal Oxidation

The color pattern on a heated metal surface develops due to the process of thermal oxidation. This is when the heated metal reacts with oxygen in the air, forming a thin oxide layer on the surface.
02

Grasping Thin Film Interference

Now, one must understand the concept of thin film interference. As light hits the oxidized metal surface, it reflects off both the top and bottom of the oxide layer. The light waves reflected from the top and the bottom of the film interfere with each other. Depending on the thickness of the oxide film (which varies due to uneven heating), for some wavelengths of light, the waves will be in phase and so will interfere constructively, leading to an enhanced intensity or brightness of that color. Conversely, for other wavelengths, the interference will be destructive, causing that color to be less prominent or completely absent.
03

Recapitulation

The visible color patterns are a result of the combined effect of thermal oxidation that forms an uneven thin film on the metal surface and thin film interference of the reflected light waves off this surface. Different thicknesses of the oxide layer enhance different colors, and the uneven heating of the metal surface causes an uneven oxide layer, which creates the striking pattern of colors.

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