Stained glass windows = solar-powered nanotech air-purifiers

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

15 thoughts on “Stained glass windows = solar-powered nanotech air-purifiers

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

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