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Egyptian inscriptions saved by a mouse
Technology
EGYPTOLOGISTS are being urged to dump their pens and paper and go digital. The hieroglyphics that cover the columns and walls of Egyptian temples are in danger of washing away. Groundwater constantly seeps into the stone on which they are engraved, depositing a corrosive layer of salt on the surface as it evaporates. Yet despite the danger that the precious inscriptions could soon be lost, Egyptologists still trace them by hand – a laborious and timeconsuming process. “It can take years to produce a final drawing,” says Peter Brand of the University of Memphis in Tennessee, who directs the Hypostyle Hall project at the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, near Luxor. Now researchers working at Amun-Re are hoping a simple software tool developed by a team
Engineers’ trick builds tougher body armour
A TECHNIQUE used for centuries to support the weight of buildings and bridges has inspired the development of a new type of armour. The tough, lightweight material is made of a network of microscopic trusses, miniature versions of the triangular scaffolds used to support 28 | NewScientist | 26 August 2006
060826_N_p28 Tech Last.indd 28
ROGER WOOD/CORBIS
Egyptian inscriptions saved by a mouse
led by Élise Meyer of the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Strasbourg, France, will speed up the process. “The history of the Egyptian people is engraved on these walls and columns,” says Meyer. “If these inscriptions disappear, that history is lost.” To transcribe the engravings, the system first transforms photographs of the object taken from different angles into a flattened, head-on image of its surface, using a technique
tall buildings and bridges. The researchers who created the material, at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will use it to develop lightweight armour for soldiers and uncrewed aircraft, and stronger, lighter frameworks for spacecraft. The team used the molecular building blocks of a light-sensitive epoxy resin dissolved in an organic solvent. When exposed to laser light, these molecules link up to form rigid “struts” 0.2 to 0.5 micrometres wide and up to 1.1 micrometres long. Using four overlapping laser beams to create patterns of dark and light, the researchers built intricate three-dimensional networks of struts (Advanced Materials, vol 18, p 2123).
them into place. This is faster and more precise than tracing the whole object. The result can then be stored on a searchable database to be recalled and, if necessary, modified the next time a similar hieroglyphic appears. This will allow researchers to investigate whether a different font or style used to draw a bird, say, was used for expressive purposes or merely dates the writing to a particular era during the temple’s 2000 years of use. The software can also make a 3D model of objects complete with the hieroglyphics inscribed on them. “You don’t normally get drawings integrated with the architectural surfaces that they decorate,” Brand says. Meyer’s –Amun-Re’s carvings are in danger– team will publish a paper on the technique in the Journal of Archaeological Science later commonly used to turn aerial this year. images into maps. The A French company, ATM3D, Egyptologist then uses an adapted plans to use 3D laser scans to version of the AutoCAD 3D record engravings in Egyptian drawing program to record the temples. This can be useful for hieroglyphic. recording the depth of the When the researcher clicks engravings, but their resolution is on two points on opposite sides too low to be used to transcribe of the hieroglyphic, a line is the hieroglyphics accurately, says brought up on the screen. This Jean Revez, a historian at the line can then be reshaped to fit University of Montreal in snugly round the hieroglyphic Canada who is collaborating by grabbing points along it with Meyer. Celeste Biever ● with a mouse and dragging
The resulting material was around one third the density of conventional epoxy, but far tougher, says lead researcher Edwin Thomas. “If you pull on a 1-inch piece of normal cross-linked epoxy, it will stretch to 1.1 inches and break,” he says. “A 1-inch-long sample of our epoxy would extend to almost a yard before it fails.” Armour made from several layers of these micro-trusses should absorb energy from blast waves, bullets or shrapnel by deforming, in a similar way to the crumple zones in cars. “Lots more deformation before
“The material could protect soldiers, aircraft and spacecraft from impact”
failure means lots more energy required to break the material, means more protection for soldiers,” Thomas says. The technique could be applied to other materials. “We are even trying glasses to see if they deform more,” he says. Within the next year, the researchers hope to ramp up their manufacturing process from producing millimetre-sized pieces to metre lengths, possibly by replacing the lasers with cheaper ultraviolet lamps. Ray Baughman, director of the NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas, Dallas, says the intricate structures could also be used to create novel light-steering or photonic crystals, or improved magnetic materials. Charles Choi ● www.newscientist.com
21/8/06 4:22:16 pm
EGYPTOLOGISTS are being urged to dump their pens and paper and go digital. The hieroglyphics that cover the columns and walls of Egyptian temples are in danger of washing away. Groundwater constantly seeps into the stone on which they are engraved, depositing a corrosive layer of salt on the surface as it evaporates. Yet despite the danger that the precious inscriptions could soon be lost, Egyptologists still trace them by hand – a laborious and timeconsuming process. “It can take years to produce a final drawing,” says Peter Brand of the University of Memphis in Tennessee, who directs the Hypostyle Hall project at the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, near Luxor. Now researchers working at Amun-Re are hoping a simple software tool developed by a team
Engineers’ trick builds tougher body armour
A TECHNIQUE used for centuries to support the weight of buildings and bridges has inspired the development of a new type of armour. The tough, lightweight material is made of a network of microscopic trusses, miniature versions of the triangular scaffolds used to support 28 | NewScientist | 26 August 2006
060826_N_p28 Tech Last.indd 28
ROGER WOOD/CORBIS
Egyptian inscriptions saved by a mouse
led by Élise Meyer of the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Strasbourg, France, will speed up the process. “The history of the Egyptian people is engraved on these walls and columns,” says Meyer. “If these inscriptions disappear, that history is lost.” To transcribe the engravings, the system first transforms photographs of the object taken from different angles into a flattened, head-on image of its surface, using a technique
tall buildings and bridges. The researchers who created the material, at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will use it to develop lightweight armour for soldiers and uncrewed aircraft, and stronger, lighter frameworks for spacecraft. The team used the molecular building blocks of a light-sensitive epoxy resin dissolved in an organic solvent. When exposed to laser light, these molecules link up to form rigid “struts” 0.2 to 0.5 micrometres wide and up to 1.1 micrometres long. Using four overlapping laser beams to create patterns of dark and light, the researchers built intricate three-dimensional networks of struts (Advanced Materials, vol 18, p 2123).
them into place. This is faster and more precise than tracing the whole object. The result can then be stored on a searchable database to be recalled and, if necessary, modified the next time a similar hieroglyphic appears. This will allow researchers to investigate whether a different font or style used to draw a bird, say, was used for expressive purposes or merely dates the writing to a particular era during the temple’s 2000 years of use. The software can also make a 3D model of objects complete with the hieroglyphics inscribed on them. “You don’t normally get drawings integrated with the architectural surfaces that they decorate,” Brand says. Meyer’s –Amun-Re’s carvings are in danger– team will publish a paper on the technique in the Journal of Archaeological Science later commonly used to turn aerial this year. images into maps. The A French company, ATM3D, Egyptologist then uses an adapted plans to use 3D laser scans to version of the AutoCAD 3D record engravings in Egyptian drawing program to record the temples. This can be useful for hieroglyphic. recording the depth of the When the researcher clicks engravings, but their resolution is on two points on opposite sides too low to be used to transcribe of the hieroglyphic, a line is the hieroglyphics accurately, says brought up on the screen. This Jean Revez, a historian at the line can then be reshaped to fit University of Montreal in snugly round the hieroglyphic Canada who is collaborating by grabbing points along it with Meyer. Celeste Biever ● with a mouse and dragging
The resulting material was around one third the density of conventional epoxy, but far tougher, says lead researcher Edwin Thomas. “If you pull on a 1-inch piece of normal cross-linked epoxy, it will stretch to 1.1 inches and break,” he says. “A 1-inch-long sample of our epoxy would extend to almost a yard before it fails.” Armour made from several layers of these micro-trusses should absorb energy from blast waves, bullets or shrapnel by deforming, in a similar way to the crumple zones in cars. “Lots more deformation before
“The material could protect soldiers, aircraft and spacecraft from impact”
failure means lots more energy required to break the material, means more protection for soldiers,” Thomas says. The technique could be applied to other materials. “We are even trying glasses to see if they deform more,” he says. Within the next year, the researchers hope to ramp up their manufacturing process from producing millimetre-sized pieces to metre lengths, possibly by replacing the lasers with cheaper ultraviolet lamps. Ray Baughman, director of the NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas, Dallas, says the intricate structures could also be used to create novel light-steering or photonic crystals, or improved magnetic materials. Charles Choi ● www.newscientist.com
21/8/06 4:22:16 pm