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Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Monday, 23 January 2017. #alternativefacts
Ancient Roman Nanotechnology — The Lycurgus Cup
In the 1950’s the British Museum acquired one of the most amazing archaeological finds from Ancient Rome. The Lycurgus Cup is a beautiful 1,600 year old goblet crafted from glass by the Ancient Romans. The cup depicts the punishment of Lycurgus, a mythical king who was ensnared in vines for committing evil acts against the Greek god Dionysus. The craftsmanship and artwork of the cup are certainly amazing on their own. During the age of the Roman Empire the Romans were master glassmakers, producing some of the finest pieces of glassware in history. However the Lycurgus cup has one incredible property that goes far beyond traditional glassmaking. When exposed to light, the cup turns from jade green into a bright, glowing red color. For decades historians, archaeologists, and scientists had no idea why this occurred or how the Romans made the cup with such light changing properties. Then in 1990 a small fragment of the cup was examined by scientists under a microscope. What they discovered is truly amazing.
The Lycurgus cup is not only made of glass, but is impregnated with thousands of small particles of gold and silver. Each of the gold and silver particles are less than 50 nano-meters in diameter, less than one-one thousandth the size of a grain of table salt. When the cup is hit with light, electrons belonging to the metal flecks vibrate in ways that alter the color depending on the observer’s position. What is even more amazing is that the addition of the particles to the glass was no accident or coincidence. The Romans would have had to have known the exact mixture and density of particles needed to give the cup light changing properties. This would have been done without the aid of a microscope, without the knowledge of atomic theory, and 1,300 years before Newton’s Theory of Colors.
Today the Lycurgus Cup has profound affects on modern nanotechnology. After studying the cup, researchers and engineers are looking to adapt the technology for modern purposes. A researcher from the University of Illinois named Gong Gang Liu is currently working on a device which uses the same technology to diagnose disease. Another application of the technology is a possible device which can detect dangerous materials being smuggled onto airplanes by terrorists.
The legacy of Ancient Rome continues. Arena’s, baths, arches, and nanotechnology.
(via we-are-star-stuff)
Secret Friends
AnaHell is a photographer who uses the body in ways that change how we previeve it. The photographs above depict people bent down with drawings on thier backs. This makes them look like other-worldly creatures.
(via prostheticeye)
This is one slice of an incredible high resolution, enhanced color image of Pluto, recently released by NASA. You can see the full, larger version here.
Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
(via moluskette)
Bill Nye Debunks Anti-Abortion Logic With Science
That’s what Bill Nye has to say in his latest educational video, “Can We Stop Telling Women What to Do With Their Bodies?” In the video, which you can watch above, Nye explains how the idea of “life at conception” simply doesn’t make sense – because many more eggs are fertilized than become humans, due to factors like failure to attach to a woman’s uterine wall.Watch the full video here.
(via gaia-kingdom)
staff You are recommending that I follow a nazi blog I blocked last night. Your site promotes anti-semitism to Jews. Your site shoves Nazi Swastikas in the faces of Jews. It’s bad enough that the Nazi blogs seem to be sprouting up like weeds on a site that claims to have an anti-hate policy, but to actively promote them to people who have taken the steps of blocking these blogs is beyond the pale. Clean this place up. It’s turning into Stormfront.
I encourage everyone who sees this post, Jewish or otherwise, to reblog it. Tumblr has been ignoring the growth of Nazism on this site for too long. It needs to end.
(via princesswiener)