Feb 28, 2025 08:34 PM
(This post was last modified: Feb 28, 2025 08:40 PM by C C.)
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/02/...-to-glass/
EXCERPTS: The body was found on a wooden bed, buried in volcanic ash, and there was evidence of brain matter remains in the skull. He is believed to have been the guardian of the Collegium Augustalium, a public building dedicated to the worship of Caesar Augustus, where the remains were found.
According to Petrone et al., usually such brain matter would be "saponified" by the extreme heat—that is, turned to soap (glycerol and fatty acids). But this particular victim's brain matter had been vitrified, i.e., fused into glass.
[...] The results: "Our comprehensive chemical and physical characterization of the material sampled from the skull of a human body buried at Herculaneum... shows compelling evidence that these are human brain remains, composed of organic glass formed at high temperatures, a process of preservation never previously documented for human or animal tissue, neither brain or any other kind," the authors wrote.
Given these findings, the authors propose the following scenario. When Vesuvius erupted, the first "deadly event" was a very hot ash cloud that surrounded its victims, including the guardian at Herculaneum. This heated the guardian's brain to well above 510° Celsius—the glass transition temperature—which likely badly damaged the brain but did not destroy it. Rather, the brain fell into smaller pieces (which matches what has been found at the site). It's possible that the guardian's thick skull bones and spine offered a little protection from the extreme heat, which likely vaporized the soft tissues of other victims at Herculaneum.
Once the ash cloud dissipated, temperatures returned to ambient conditions, resulting in the "fast cooling" that turned the brain fragments into glass... (MORE - missing details)
PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88894-5
Vesuvius volcano turned this brain to glass ... https://youtu.be/Ph0L7rhO-NY
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Ph0L7rhO-NY
EXCERPTS: The body was found on a wooden bed, buried in volcanic ash, and there was evidence of brain matter remains in the skull. He is believed to have been the guardian of the Collegium Augustalium, a public building dedicated to the worship of Caesar Augustus, where the remains were found.
According to Petrone et al., usually such brain matter would be "saponified" by the extreme heat—that is, turned to soap (glycerol and fatty acids). But this particular victim's brain matter had been vitrified, i.e., fused into glass.
[...] The results: "Our comprehensive chemical and physical characterization of the material sampled from the skull of a human body buried at Herculaneum... shows compelling evidence that these are human brain remains, composed of organic glass formed at high temperatures, a process of preservation never previously documented for human or animal tissue, neither brain or any other kind," the authors wrote.
Given these findings, the authors propose the following scenario. When Vesuvius erupted, the first "deadly event" was a very hot ash cloud that surrounded its victims, including the guardian at Herculaneum. This heated the guardian's brain to well above 510° Celsius—the glass transition temperature—which likely badly damaged the brain but did not destroy it. Rather, the brain fell into smaller pieces (which matches what has been found at the site). It's possible that the guardian's thick skull bones and spine offered a little protection from the extreme heat, which likely vaporized the soft tissues of other victims at Herculaneum.
Once the ash cloud dissipated, temperatures returned to ambient conditions, resulting in the "fast cooling" that turned the brain fragments into glass... (MORE - missing details)
PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88894-5
Vesuvius volcano turned this brain to glass ... https://youtu.be/Ph0L7rhO-NY