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."

Comments

Using "nanotechnology" to dye your hair...

[daveschroeder]

...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.

Re:Using "nanotechnology" to dye your hair...

[msobkow]

Lead poisoning occurs regardless of the size of the lead particles.

It seems the article poster has a reputation, based on the grandparent comment. If they can try to spin lead poisoning as proof that nano-tech is safe and keep a straight face, they must have spent part of their career working for the tobacco industry.

This does not inspire confidence

[eln]

These same people were drinking wine from lead goblets, I don't know if they are the ones we should be looking at for safety advice.

Are you kidding?

[bshort404]

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.

It's a friggin *lead* compound...

[comingstorm]

... plus, it's very finely divided, which makes it much more active than the big chunks of lead that we avoid because they cause brain damage.

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.

I am now convinced about Roland Piquepaille

[KWTm]

I read with some skepticism the negative comments[1] regarding Roland Piquepaille, some postulating that some staff member of Slashdot has a secret agreement to accept his submissions.

Well, now, this takes the cake. Egyptians using nanoparticles? This is news?

Ahem, In Other News ...
When Gandhi incited civil disobedience against British rule by picking up a pinch of salt from the sea, those sodium chloride particles were less than one nanometre across![2] OMG! The Indians used nanotechnology to overthrow the British!!! WTF! Is this a harbinger of the war-like uses of nanotechnology??? BBQ!!!1!!11!one!1!

Can we have a topic devoted to Roland Piquepaille so that we can adjust our viewing preferences in accordance with the amount of adoration we feel for this Submitter of Many Slashdot Articles?

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Footnotes:
[1]
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=14501811&sid=1 74309
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=14436063&sid=1 73521
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=14049437&sid=1 68524
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=13236725&sid=1 57979
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=13188470&sid=1 57186

[2] (Yeah, I know the actual particles of salt he held were more than 1nm across, but then it dissolved into the sweat from his fingertips, and the salt regrouped into nanoparticles that spread out in a thin layer across his fingertips.)