Scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass

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Depending on where a light source is positioned, the Lycurgus Cup changes colour, from jade green under normal lighting to ruby red when lit from behind – an astonishing feat of optical engineering that has confounded historians and glass-makers for centuries. Watch the Lycurgus Cup change colour under lightHollands worked with Prof Caroline Jackson, a leading Roman glass expert, in conducting the initial research. Nanoparticles are much smaller than the wavelengths of light and in certain conditions they block certain colours due to the light affecting the electrons in the atoms.

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