Roman colour-changing glass

[Duncan Head]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/oct/25/scientists-rediscover-ancient-roman-colour-changing-glass

[Jim Webster]

I would love to know how somebody came up  with this originally. It would be expensive trial and error for your Roman glass maker

[Ian61]

I would love to know how somebody came up  with this originally. It would be expensive trial and error for your Roman glass maker

You should have attended my lessons on emission and absorption spectroscopy,     This is not that freakish, the colour is different because you are either seeing the wavelengths that pass through OR the colours that bounce off which need must be different and what artists call complementary colours. So the result is obtained because the glass is translucent rather than properly opaque.

[Jim Webster]

I would love to know how somebody came up  with this originally. It would be expensive trial and error for your Roman glass maker

You should have attended my lessons on emission and absorption spectroscopy,     This is not that freakish, the colour is different because you are either seeing the wavelengths that pass through OR the colours that bounce off which need must be different and what artists call complementary colours. So the result is obtained because the glass is translucent rather than properly opaque.

I confess to be a little vague as to the Roman writings on emission and absorption spectroscopy 

[stevenneate]

I would love to know how somebody came up  with this originally. It would be expensive trial and error for your Roman glass maker

By accident and serendipity and then followed by refinement when they realised they could make a few sesterces from it.

[Imperial Dave]

Many many examples of this through time

Pasteur and his petri dish
Heating a pan of corn and letting the water run out
Desperately needing to avoid rolling ones in a wargame