The experts who made this discovery couldn’t believe it. Photo: Reference / Archaeological Institute Belgrade
At a site in the ancient Roman city of Aquileia, dating back almost two thousand years, a team of Tufts University researchers has discovered an object that humanity was able to produce only with 21st century technology.
About them Photonic crystalsNanomaterials used in the field Modern optics In order to filter the flow of light, it reflects certain wavelengths and does not allow others to pass through.
These tiny structures, characterized by a contrasting color palette between blue, orange and green, have different applications today, such as anti-reflective devices, lasers, lenses and color-changing paints.
In pieces of glass
The photonic crystals were found in a 100-nanometer-thick layer on the surface of pieces of glass that were once part of ancient Roman vases and bottles.
When researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology examined the remains of these artefacts, they discovered that they were made between 100 BC. C and the year 100 AD. C, right on the sands of Egypt, the heart of global trade at the time.
A fragment of Roman glass was found nearby. The gold layer is a photonic crystal film. Photo: Giulia Guidetti
However, nanocrystals were not created intentionally by the craftsmen of ancient Rome, but, to the surprise of researchers, they are a natural product of time and various weathering factors.
This finding is significant because, according to Previous studiesPhotonic crystals are only found naturally in certain minerals, such as opal, and in organisms such as butterfly wings and the scales of some fish.
A gift of nature and time
Photonic crystals formed naturally over centuries after pieces of glass were buried by dust and soil and exposed to temperature changes and fluctuating groundwater levels.
“It’s very remarkable that you have glass that’s been in mud for two thousand years, and you end up with a textbook example of nanophotonic components,” he said. Fiorenzo OmenettoProfessor of Engineering and Principal Author of Research.
“It could be a process of erosion and reconstruction,” he said in a statement. Report Giulia GuidettiCo-author of the study and an expert in materials science.
This discovery has significant implications for science, as it opens the door to a new method that makes it possible to rapidly prepare nanophotonic crystals in the laboratory.
“The age of glasses may be part of its appeal, in this case, if we can speed up the process significantly in the lab, we may find a way to grow optical materials instead of manufacturing them,” Omenetto said.
