Slashdot Mirror
Nanocosmetics Used Since Ancient Egypt
Roland Piquepaille writes "French researchers have found that Egyptians, Greek and Romans were using nanotechnology to dye their hair several thousands years ago. Nanowerk Spotlight reports they were using lead compounds which generated lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals with a diameter of only 5 nanometers. At a moment where many people wonder if the use of nanoparticles is safe, it's good to know that nanotechnology has been widely used for a very long time."
...is hardly the same as using nanotechnology to repair your brain or otherwise ingest.
And aside from that, I'd hardly call this "nanotechnology" just because a hair dye process deemed effective by ancient Egyptians coincidentally happened to generate particle small enough to meet the definition of "nanoparticle".
Additionally, this is yet another questionable Roland Piquepaille submission.
Well...humans have done other things for a long time that were none too healthy. A few examples:
So just because people used to do something for a long time doesn't necessarily make it harmless.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Huh? I'm pretty sure the Egyptians didn't do a lot of work to decide if it was safe. The lead used would be unsafe regardless of the nanoparticulate nature of the compound. Lead was used in lots of other ways through history, too. That doesn't make it safe.
It must be safe! I mean... their life spans were totally almost half of ours.
At a moment where many people wonder if the use of nanoparticles is safe, it's good to know that nanotechnology has been widely used for a very long time.
Rubbing your head with lead sulfide definitely sounds safe enough, I guess that proves that nothing can go wrong with using technology.
We've made enough and more mistakes along the path of our history to assume one of our "reinventions" is safe merely because somebody else used it before. Mad hatters, heavy metal colours, hallucinogenic potions, trepanning - just find a more upto date list.
Unless you want to add some mysterious oriental magic to it ... *meh*
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
People have been smoking for much longer than the tobacco companies have been selling cigarettes. They've also been drinking alcohol for even longer than that. Neither of those is safe today (the former more unsafe than the latter).
Lead sulphide? Galena? Safe? Yeah, let's also make orange and red pigments from orpiment and realgar while we're at it.
The fact ancient peoples used something does NOT necessarily make it "safe" in any sense.
While lead sulfide[PDF] isn't particularly hazardous, I wouldn't categorize it as safe. Lead poisoning is on my list of things to avoid. YMMV.
Insisting on "correct" English is like saying that there is only one, definitive recipe for chili.
Without a doubt, this is the worst post ever.
The Egyptians used nano-particles? There's a world of difference between a very small mineral grain and a synthesized nano-bot.
Get a clue.
-B
In general, any "nanotechnology" that isn't encapsulated will have this problem; a very large specific surface area can make things hazardous even if the substance is otherwise chemically inert.
And I'll second parent's assertion that it's not actually nanotechnology; it's friggin' chemistry. When you can program it, or it can reproduce, *then* you can call it genuine nanotech; not before.
When do people get this into their thick heads: Correlation does not equal causation. I know this might not be the best application for quoting this, but the fact that nano particles were 'accidentally' used does not make this 'nanotechnology'. Yet another attempt to hype this new term and in the process completely obfuscate and dilute its true meaning. Nanotechnology is the science and technology of building devices, such as electronic circuits, from single atoms and molecules. I'm fairly certain the ancient Egyptians were a few steps behind that technological achievement. I'm even miffed when they call microparticles (e.g. sunscreens, lubricants, etc.) a result of 'nanotechnology' - it's a grayzone yes, but we should keep our definitions in check.
Q: "When, exactly, did Slashdot become so retarded?"
A: During the Bush admistrations war on science, reason, morals and ethics.
Need Mercedes parts ?
calling what the ancient egyptians were doing with PbS "nanotechnology" is like saying me popping my zits is "ecosystem terraforming"
"At a moment where many people wonder if the use of nanoparticles is safe, it's good to know that nanotechnology has been widely used for a very long time"
oh yeah! i just farted! therefore, global warming isn't a threat to mankind!
that's about the same level of logical deduction there dear author!
who wrote this crap and who greenlighted it?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Romans and Greeks used lead paints to make their faces white. After the fall of Rome, people selectively poisoned themselves with arsenic to make themselves look paler. And, given the health impacts of stuff like silicosis and asbestos damage, both of which are related to particle size and shape, I'd say that any small particle had better be eyed pretty warily by anyone with brains, no matter what idiots in the past have done with it.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
So exactly what is the deal with this Roland P. and how is this submission worse than any median front page post?
Googling "Roland Piquepaille" gives some pretty cool links to fun insights. The article itself is quite interesting (albeit short), AND without the typical 12-page ad clickthroughs...
So you disagree with some of P.'s ideas? Well, who gives a fun as long as his submissions are good! What am I missing here?
Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.