Home▸Biology▸Polar Bear Fur: Hollow Hairs as Light Guides

Polar Bear Fur: Hollow Hairs as Light Guides

2D ray-diagram cross-section of a hollow, transparent polar-bear guard hair guiding light to black skin by total internal reflection — drag to pan, scroll to zoom, and compare one clear hair to a scattering white bundle.

Biology2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

A 2D ray-diagram cross-section of the same real total-internal-reflection light-guiding a polar bear's hollow guard hair performs, shown alongside a schematic of why a dense bundle of the very same clear hairs looks white instead of transparent.

⚙ Under the hood

2D ray-diagram cross-section of a hollow, transparent polar-bear guard hair guiding light to black skin by total internal reflection, next to a schematic bundle showing why fur looks white from scattering instead. Drag to pan, scroll to zoom.

total-internal-reflectionfiber-opticsthermal-adaptationpolar-bearnew-year

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install