Renaissance Potters Were Nanotechnologists

Roland Piquepaille writes "In this article, Nature says that "tiny metal particles give 15th century Italian ceramics lustre." Nature adds that iridescent glazes -- changing colour when viewed from different perspectives -- were achieved by using "particles of copper and silver of between 5 and 100 billionths of a metre across." And the story becomes even more interesting. Nanotechnology meets alchemy! "The ability to change colour was regarded as an alchemical property, making iridescence magic too." Read this summary for more details. And for more information, you can read the abstract of this research paper, "Copper in glazes of Renaissance luster pottery: Nanoparticles, ions, and local environment," published by the Journal of Applied Physics."

Comments

Change color ... (colour, whatever)

[inertia187]

"The ability to change colour was regarded as an alchemical property, making iridescence magic too."

Yep, I can attest to that. Just take a look at all of the magical leftovers in my refrigerator.

Does that make...

[MoxCamel]

...the first caveman to figure out how to throw a spear an "Aerospace Engineer?" :)

Re:Does that make...

[SeanTobin]

I don't think they would be an Aerospace Engineer. A spear would be classified as a projectile instead of any kind of object 'Of or relating to the science or technology of flight.'

Granted a spear is designed to fly, but it makes its designers no more aerospace engineers than my cat. They may however qualify for any of the following positions:

Experimental projectile theorist
Advanced weaponry specialist
Long range warfare expert
Overt combat engineer
Specialized weaponry designer
Multi-component weapon composer
Tatical physics engineer

Of course, simply telling your opponents that you have tatical physics engineers ready to attack them is likely to just cause them to surrender. For added effectiveness, let them know your TPE's are going to show them a Shock and Awe attack.

Re:Does that make...

[Junior J. Junior III]

Maybe we can just send a missle back in time...


Only if you were somehow able to encase the entire thing in flesh, as cyberDyne Systems have proven, you can't send inorganic material back in time without encasing it in living tissue.

I really don't wanna think about what that would look like.

Slightly offtopic...

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing like leaving a bowl of fruit on your counter for 5 weeks until it blows the lid off after making some obnoxious gasses.

I wouldn't have known the color if it were not for that!

Yeah, right...

[cybermace5]

...so what you're telling me is that the riced-out green iridescent Honda down the street is driven by a nanotechnologist?

Whoa.

Wow thats neat

[Ozor]

I love those intresting articles that have no effect on my life.

Re:Using a fine powder is NOT nanotechnology

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone tell that to Donald Rumsfeld

Whats next?

[imsabbel]

Sensational discovery:
Prehistoric Particle Physics Experiment Discovered!!
Archeologiest find great hint for colliding experiments utilizing Atoms of Si,C and O in a compound material.

Only because incas used piss to etch a copper gold compound doesnt mean they knew about electron gases in metals or electronegativity.

Same goes here....

I'm a Nanotechnologist too!

[Anonymous Coward]

I produce some highly-engineered ear wax.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

I like this trend.

[Anonymous Coward]

Good way to pad a resume.
Let's see
Bio-technologist - pet goldfish
Forensic expert - dead goldfish
Multitasker - can walk and chew gum concurrentyly
Scholar - knows what concurrentyly means
Web-user - can't spell

Re:Meh

[kin_korn_karn]

This insight was brought to you by the scientific journal "DUH".

Re:Meh

[TopShelf]

That doesn't matter - I understand their patent is about to be approved anyway. Talk about prior art!

*rimshot*

Re:In Other News...

[Jad LaFields]

I mean, I'm made of nanoparticles! Does that make me (or my parents) a nanotechnologist? No. However, this post does make me a nanoloser.

I'm not sure if that means I'm only very slightly a loser, or just a very tiny one. Ah well, a question for the the Renaissance potters, for sure.

Didn't know Harry was that good.

[AtariAmarok]

I didn't know Potter was that good with this stuff. Afterall, Snape nearly flunks him out of Potions every term.

Monkeys Fling Poo

[Anonymous Coward]

Forget the cave man, go back even further, to the first monkey ever to huck a loaf.

Re:Changing Copper into Gold

[yintercept]

Just take a look at all of the magical leftovers in my refrigerator.

I've been a dedicated alchemist all my life. Although I have yet to turn copper into gold, I've been able to turn a whopper into mold.

This must be a typo.

[Pig Hogger]

Surely they meant Harry Potter is a nanotechnologist...

Low standards?

[t0ny]

Wow, if we are going to apply that lax of a standard to what qualifies as working with nanotechnology, then we may as well say I am working with it when I lay a big, smelly steamer in the bathroom.

All those stench molecules! Wow! Im a nanotech engineer!

I just sneezed

[circletimessquare]

I mean, I atmospherically deployed bioactive nanotechnology.

Buzzword alert! ;-P