Naturally Arising Nanostructures, Forming In/On Ancient Glass -- Made In Rome -- Of Pure Egyptian Sand... Some 2,000 Years Ago. "Now You Know" Sunday Dept.

The shards laid in the mud of the Tiber riverbanks. . .

They laid there, in endless cycles of drying and wetting, in the fine, mineral rich silt of Rome's central river.

Likely more than 2,000 years worth.

What has emerged. . . from this natural process. . . is a luminescence, like those of fish scales. . . and it is teaching materials engineers new lessons about how we might make useful optical storage devices, based on the principles there laid down.

Do stay tuned -- as there will be much more to this story. . . in the coming decade. Perhaps even a drive, on your desk top. . . or alongside your phone.

We shall see. Onward.

नमस्ते