Photonic crystals - step in a future

Development of the field in photonic crystals began in the late 1980's. At the time no one suspected that the same structures nupht be found in nature. The natural exaniples were unknown until four years ago. Since the sea mouse was discovered, the scientists have found photonic crystals in butterfly wings and in a sedimentary gem opal. This paper describes the natural examples photonic crystals and explains shortly the basic physic phenomenon's for existence of photonic band gap.