Conclusion

Metallic luster is quite distinct from the visual appearance of non-conductive bodies, provided the latter refrain from arranging themselves in multiple layers. For example, the visual appearance of mica is easily confused with that of anything that might be metallic, and the smaller the grains, the better. The high reflectivity of metals and certain alloys in the visible range is essentially characterized by high values of the imaginary part of their dielectric function. When reduced to powder, metals, depending on their conductivity, will take on a darker hue than would insulating bodies of the same grind. The relative chromatic limit between metals and dielectrics, as well as that of their brilliance, is indicated by semiconductors. These visual properties of metals or compounds with metallic luster can be modeled using plasma physics, and access to the intrinsic fundamental data represented...