New nondestructive optical technique reveals the structure of mother-of-pearl – Phys.org

Most people know mother-of-pearl, an iridescent biomineral also called nacre, from buttons, jewelry, instrument inlays and other decorative flourishes. Scientists, too, have admired and marveled at nacre for decades, not only for its beauty and optical properties but because of its exceptional toughness.
“It’s one of the most-studied natural biominerals,” says Pupa Gilbert, a University of Wisconsin-Madison physics professor who has studied nacre for more than a decade. “It may not look like muchjust…

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