Natural projection - the octopus

[steely1]

hi guys my first ever post

just inquiring if it is possible to use or copy the way octopuses change colours in paint for example painting a house with the the soloution and adding a chip to the soulution in the paint to control the colours so u could create different colours on your house at a touch of a button.

 

this would be grate could make tv cheeper and tatoos that move plz give me any advice on how this is probably a silly idea cheers;)

[Jay-qu]

I wish dude! you could extend the idea to make it an active camo house - or why not just make a cloak! :hihi: for some reason I dont think it would work! sorry...

[Eclogite]

The problem is that the octopus has a highly sophisticated control system that acts on a couple of hundred thousand chromatophores and iridiocytes.

 

Colour change in the octopus is achieved by special cells in the skin called chromatophores. These are elastic sac's of pigment which are surrounded by radial muscles; which when they contract, enlarge the chromatophore, increasing the apparent concentration of colour. (fig.2,appendix)

There are two sets of chromatophores, one set varying from black to red, the other from red to pale yellow.

Below these are a layer of iridiocytes, (reflective bodies) which break up white light into green or blue, giving the octopus a huge number of potential colour combinations and patterns. The octopus also has the ability to change the texture of its skin to match its background by raising papillae

 

Source:http://www.eyeonthesea.co.nz/feature/octopus.html

 

You might be able to achieve something by using a paint with embedded magnetic particles that changed alignment and hence reflected colour when you subjected the exterior of the house to a strong magnetic field! :hihi: