The medieval glaziers who made the cathedral in Chartres and the Duomo of Milan so breathtaking inadvertently made the taking of said breath healthier.
It’s the gold paint they used that acts as an air purifier when light shines through the glass.
[Associate professor at Queensland University of Technology] Zhu [Huai Yong] said that tiny gold particles found in medieval gold paint react with sunlight to destroy air-borne pollutants like volatile organic chemicals/compounds (VOCs), which are emitted from paints, lacquers, and glues, among other things.
“These VOCs create that ‘new’ smell as they are slowly released from walls and furniture, but they, along with methanol and carbon monoxide, are not good for your health, even in small amounts,” Zhu said.
When interacting with gold particles, sunlight creates an electromagnetic field that reacts with the oscillating electrons in the gold. This field resonates and breaks apart pollutants in the air, according to Zhu.
No wonder churches smell so great. I sense a new/old trend in Green building coming on. No more overpriced Sharper Image ionizer things; just glorious stained glass in every window.
:hattip: The Cranky Professor
I love this! Always knew old churches were good for your health.
Unless you’re Thomas Becket. :giggle:
Ah but I’m not.
I’m glad to hear it. I think your brain looks much nicer firmly ensconced in its skull. :skull:
Wow, that’s flat out amazing!
Makes you want to replace all the windows in your house, doesn’t it? 🙂
Wow i never knew that about gold paint. who knew it acted as an air filter.
I sure didn’t. Now if only I could afford gold painted stained glass windows, I’d be set. :giggle:
my small business has been doing R/D in order to discover if this technology can be utilized in the effort to make clean coal technology a reality.
Fascinating. Are VOCs a major factor in coal production, or is your company thinking the gold/sun purification can filter CO2 as well?
we are doing some R/D in regard to CO2, but this is expensive and almost out of our reach, however we are trying to initiate its study and application.
Best of luck to you. It would be a neat thing to use an ancient artistic technique as the basis for a modern purification technology.
If this were true of all stained glass, would more people return to church on Sundays? A purification of the lungs and soul.
I hope Linda’s research pays off. If not, I look forward to installing some gold flecked windows into the rich mansions here in LA. Then they can be “green” and baroque.
Fascinating! I’ve been working with stained glass for over 18 years now and there is sooooo much more to learn.
Do you still use gold paint like they did in Medieval cathedrals? You could have a whole line of business dedicated to ionizing stained glass. It would make a great selling point, even if it was more costly.