Infrared camera identifies Egypt's favourite colour
“Egyptian blue”, the favourite colour of Ancient Egypt, adorned statues and reliefs anywhere on the Nile, but over the centuries, the colour mixture was forgotten, and the bright hues faded into an unrecognizable shade of green. Now, scientists have developed a camera which can detect the electromagnetic waves emitted by “Egyptian blue”, that come close to the infrared spectrum. The camera depicts the colour, which consists of calcium, quartz, copper, and alkaline salt, as particularly bright areas. POTENTIAL: A more realistic impression of Egypt's art treasures. CHALLENGE: There's no surviving point of reference. Scientists must proceed by trial and error.