Sometimes you don’t have to turn to sophisticated labs to find a solution. energy or environmental issuesFor example, the ancient Romans recently taught us how to improve the durability of concrete.of researchers found Concrete produced today can last for a century, while Roman civilization used a secret ingredient that made concrete resistant to water erosion and set over time. The key was a volcanic material composed of tobermorite, one of the components of modern cement, and phillipsite, a mineral that promotes the formation of tobermorite when in contact with salt water.
But today we look back at another ancient empire, Egypt. Specifically, one of its most valuable pigments, egyptian blue, was used to represent deities and members of high society.But what’s the twist on this colorful pigment? It’s based on copper calcium silicate and actually The first synthetic pigment recorded in historyand now it came to life Innovative applicationcools the infrastructure thanks to its fluorescent properties.
egyptian blue can absorb solar radiation Reflects as infrared.This fact has been known for some time, but new technology research It has proven to be much more efficient than previously thought. According to the latest research by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA), this dye emits almost 100% of the photos it absorbs as infrared radiation. This means that infrared photons carry less energy than those from the visible spectrum, thus offering 70% energy efficiency. The remaining energy is dissipated as heat.
If you want to avoid heating your home, painting it white is one of the most popular choices, although other colors are used for the roof. As such, Egyptian Blue could be a way to combine reflectivity and aesthetic properties.
Friend of solar power generation, Egyptian blue
The use of this type of pigment is save energy Reduces the need for air conditioning. Also, by preventing buildings and vehicles from heating up, the so-called “urban heat island”, an area of a city where the temperature is higher than the surrounding area. However, they have more uses.Scientists dyed the windows in Egyptian blue and painted the surrounding solar cell Can capture reflected energy and generate electricity
sauce: Berkeley Lab
