Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was thinking Stargate!
Indeed
I see what you did there.
Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
41–50 of 57 posts
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't doubt that there's been scientific research into the best way to mummify a body; they wouldn't have done all of the steps on a whim / guess. But we're talking about a tradition spanning hundreds, if not thousands of years here. Mummification or otherwise preserving a body goes back a long time - the oldest form of intentional mummification goes back to 5000 BC, or 7000 years ago (according to wikipedia), so e…
To put things in perspective we are closer time-wise to Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt than he was to the building of the Great Pyramids. Ancient Egyptian culture was immensely old, even at that time, and was basically continuous for the whole period.
I remember reading somewhere that Alexander the Great was so impressed by the (by then already ruinous) Tower of Babel, that he ordered it to be demolished and re-built. He died before the construction was completed, though.
Edit: here is a source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etemenanki
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, beeswax, linseed oils, pine resin are not plastic. They can be used instead of plastic in many applications but they're still renewable and bio-degradable materials. Bitumen is a crude oil product, and quite nasty material indeed. But it's not really what I was referring to here. Plastic is very durable but it's quite brittle. A plastic bucket for example can break quite easily and needs to be disposed of respons…
> No, beeswax, linseed oils, pine resin are not plastic. How would you describe them except 'plastic'? > They can be used instead of plastic in many applications but they're still renewable and bio-degradable materials. Many plastics are renewable and biodegradable.
I think what's being argued about here is mainly the different between polymerized resins and other natural products, and petroleum-derived polymers. Both are 'plastic' because 'plastic' is a term that derives from the nature of the product, not its idendity.
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#44I love the clash of deeply detailed language like "we vaporized the samples and used ‘Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)’ and separated the molecules" with them using 'black goo' as a term. I am fascinated that the goo wasn't just a random choice for mummification but apparently had spiritual/cultural significance. Never knew too much about Egyptian culture but this being a sort of 'regeneration' symbol,…
> I love the clash of deeply detailed language like "we vaporized the samples and used ‘Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)’ and separated the molecules" with them using 'black goo' as a term. I would argue that 'black goo' is the most deeply detailed and technical term that could be used for such a substance. I think we can both agree that one cannot argue that it is not black. Now read the following defi…
"black goo" is the standard organic chemistry term for the nasty crap at the bottom of your apparatus after doing a reaction.
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, beeswax, linseed oils, pine resin are not plastic. They can be used instead of plastic in many applications but they're still renewable and bio-degradable materials. Bitumen is a crude oil product, and quite nasty material indeed. But it's not really what I was referring to here. Plastic is very durable but it's quite brittle. A plastic bucket for example can break quite easily and needs to be disposed of respons…
Plastics just means a specific set of properties not what it’s specifically made from or can it be biodegradable. Depending on the exact chemical reaction makeup these could very well be considered plastics. Plastics date back around 3500 years with the earliest plastics being made form egg proteins and other animal sources, Shellac which can and is formed into plastic materials has been used for at least 3000 years…
Apparently, cellulose nitrate is also known as Nitrocellulose, and it's pretty explosive stuff; wrt replacing ivory billiards balls:
"The invention enjoyed a brief popularity, but the Hyatt balls were extremely flammable, and sometimes portions of the outer shell would explode upon impact. An owner of a billiard saloon in Colorado wrote to Hyatt about the explosive tendencies, saying that he did not mind very much personally but for the fact that every man in his saloon immediately pulled a gun at the sound."
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't doubt that there's been scientific research into the best way to mummify a body; they wouldn't have done all of the steps on a whim / guess. But we're talking about a tradition spanning hundreds, if not thousands of years here. Mummification or otherwise preserving a body goes back a long time - the oldest form of intentional mummification goes back to 5000 BC, or 7000 years ago (according to wikipedia), so e…
To put things in perspective we are closer time-wise to Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt than he was to the building of the Great Pyramids. Ancient Egyptian culture was immensely old, even at that time, and was basically continuous for the whole period.
The figure I usually see used for that comparison is Julius Caesar or Cleopatra. I think Alexander is a little too old for it to be quite true.
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#47Some records suggest that people in Azerbaijan were taking crude oil baths as early as 6th century.
I can't say what's true but it seems to make sense that people were fascinated by a liquid pouring from the ground. Just like when plutonium was first discovered it was used for health.
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I was surprised about the bitumen and its origin story Interesting, bitumen was the first (and only) thing I thought of.
Indeed - I believe people in the middle ages burnt mummies as fuel because of their bitumen content
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#49Some records suggest that people in Azerbaijan were taking crude oil baths as early as 6th century. I can't say what's true but it seems to make sense that people were fascinated by a liquid pouring from the ground. Just like when plutonium was first discovered it was used for health.
> Just like when plutonium was first discovered it was used for health
[citation needed] because this doesn't really seem to be the case. Although apparently there were eventually some plutonium based pacemakers in the 70s, plutonium itself was first produced in the 40s but I couldn't really find how it was used for health except for some highly unethical studies done on radiation.
Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’
#50I guessed quite a few of these ingredients because I work with beeswax, tree resins and plant oils in the wood shop, particularly when doing instruments. I was surprised about the bitumen and its origin story (floating blobs in the dead sea). That stuff looks like bitumen but I did not expect that they had petroleum products so long ago. I use lots of materials in my craft that were once used by the ancient Egyptians…
Bitumen has been used for over 70,000 years as an adhesive (and somewhat less for waterproofing), actually; the first use of it was by Neanderthals found in Syria.
And it is still used today. I painted the bottom of my boat with black bituminous paint. Wonderful stuff, and it has some pretty unique properties that surprised me while I watched it weather for the first few years.
Bitumen really is a wonderful thing, I'm surprised how few people know about it or use it.
If you've ever got to protect steel outdoors or underwater, I 100% recommend it as the simple, low-cost, high quality option. I would recommend one of the more modern mixtures like Epifanes Black Bottom, of which €15 will get you a liter (8-10m2 of one layer), €50 will get you four liters, just throw it over clean or dirty steel with a standard roller or brush and you're done. Make sure to do minimum 2 (ideally 3) layers, check that it's not collecting (large drips or puddles anywhere will take months to harden!), and put it on generously - you'll be rewarded with one of the best low-tech coatings money can buy.
Oh, and I just remembered bitumen tape - somewhere around $10-$20 will get you a large roll of the best tape on the planet (Commonly sold as bitumen roof tape at Home Depot.) Definitely not as versatile as duct tape, but it will stick to _absolutely everything_ no matter how oily, wet, dirty, etc. and save your butt in the craziest situations, I've used it to stop a boat from sinking and to stop a leak spraying everywhere. You can use it for everything from a leaky roof to a leaky sink to a pipe spraying wildly. Keep in mind, as it is a petroleum product it needs to be around 5-10C (40-50F) to be flexible and sticky enough. (You can also use this in the opposite way in your favor, use ice cubes to cool it down to make it less of a sticky mess.)
Anyone else have any other favorite bitumen products or related things that I'm missing?