Scientists reproduce Roman colour-changing Lycurgus glass

"‘It’s magic’: scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass. Exclusive: Optical engineering that went into 1,600-year-old Lycurgus Cup has baffled experts for centuries." www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

"Hollands worked with Prof Caroline Jackson, a leading Roman glass expert, in conducting the initial research. Then came the challenge of embedding into glass nanoparticles of gold and silver – each a thousand times smaller than a grain of sand." www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

"'So, for this glass, if light is shone through it, the gold and silver particles block blue and green light, only allowing reds and oranges to pass through. If light is reflected off the surface, the particles have the effect of scattering the light, giving the opaque green colour we see.'"

This is really interesting, but I'd really like to know how the Romans did it, not how we're capable of reproducing the effect using modern technology. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

The recreation of Roman dichroic glass. So coooool..! 🤩 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

www.theguardian.com/science/2026... ‘…an astonishing feat of optical engineering that has confounded historians and glass-makers for centuries…’

This is really neat. The Romans were pretty advanced in some ways.... www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

"She added: “If the Romans could have seen me experimenting, they’d probably laugh and ask: ‘Why does she not know how to make this?’”" 😏 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Terrible headline. They did not “rediscover” how to make this ancient Roman colour changing glass it remains a mystery - they made glass that changes colour with nanoparticals so unless they are trying to suggest ancient Romans had abilities to manipulate nanoparticles…umm.

The work of civilization goes on, undeterred by malicious ignorance and right-wing delusions. ‘It’s magic’: scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

"although a similar-coloured glass was replicated in the 1960s, Sheffield’s project is much closer to the actual green and red shades of the Lycurgus Cup. “This is more ambitious and more precise… the colour is [very] sensitive to the position in the furnace…[it's] very difficult…to control"