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Science!

Good news! Scientists at Cambridge University have succeeded in making artificial nacre. That’s mother o’ pearl to you and me.

It’s fairly easy to make something structurally similar — it’s just layers of calcium carbonate — but this is the first time they’ve gotten a result that iridesces like pearl. They did it by closely mimicking the processes a real mollusc uses to lay down shell.

This is good. MoP is strong and useful and, naturally, beautiful. And they say their process is cheap.

If you don’t see the value in that, I’ve got four words for you: mother of pearl cellphones.

Or, you know, five words if you think “cell phone” should be two words.

August 7, 2012 — 10:13 pm
Comments: 41