Egyptian Blue: How an Ancient Pigment Could Save Lives
The world's first artificial pigment, Egyptian blue, may help scientists prevent forgery and even save lives. We're conducting a survey of our viewers! If you have time, please give us feedback:...
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[♩INTRO ] The tale of the world’s first artificial pigment has all the elements of a good thriller: an ancient mystery, a dramatic rediscovery, and some cutting-edge future technology. Today, this age-old chemical compound may help scientists prevent forgery and even save lives. But before it was doing any of that, it was adding color to the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. The color blue was a big deal to the ancient Egyptians. It was the color of the sky and the Nile, and people came to associate it with creation and fertility. But the earliest pigments were made from things like different minerals or charcoal, which means lots of browns, reds, and yellows. One of the only natural sources of blue pigment was a rare, valuable mineral called lapis laz...
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[♩INTRO ] The tale of the world’s first artificial pigment has all the elements of a good thriller: an ancient mystery, a dramatic rediscovery, and some cutting-edge future technology. Today, this age-old chemical compound may help scientists prevent forgery and even save lives. But before it was doing any of that, it was adding color to the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. The color blue was a big deal to the ancient Egyptians. It was the color of the sky and the Nile, and people came to associate it with creation and fertility. But the earliest pigments were made from things like different minerals or charcoal, which means lots of browns, reds, and yellows. One of the only natural sources of blue pigment was a rare, valuable mineral called lapis laz...
