Fibre-optical features of a glass sponge

Modern technology cannot yet compete with some of the sophisticated optical systems possessed by biological organisms. Here we show that the spicules of the deep-sea 'glass' sponge Euplectella have remarkable fibre-optical properties, which are surprisingly similar to those of commercial t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature Vol. 424; no. 6951; pp. 899 - 900
Main Authors Aizenberg, Joanna, Sundar, Vikram C, Yablon, Andrew D, Grazul, John L, Ilan, Micha
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Nature Publishing Group 21.08.2003
Subjects
Euplectella
Light
Marine
Optical properties
Optics
Porifera
Temperature
New York
Israel
Tel Aviv Israel
United States > US
New Jersey
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Summary:Modern technology cannot yet compete with some of the sophisticated optical systems possessed by biological organisms. Here we show that the spicules of the deep-sea 'glass' sponge Euplectella have remarkable fibre-optical properties, which are surprisingly similar to those of commercial telecommunication fibres - except that the spicules themselves are formed under normal ambient conditions and have some technological advantages over man-made versions.
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ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/424899a