After 500+ Years, X-Rays Have Revealed an Amazing Secret Inside the Mona Lisa.

Analyzing a minuscule speck of paint from Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a team of scientists discovered new clues to his paint mixture.

The oil-paint mixture features plumbonacrite, a rare compound that likely indicates the presence of lead oxide powder.

The addition of this powder allowed for a thicker oil-based paint that could dry quickly.

We know Leonardo da Vinci as a famed Italian painter, but what about da Vinci as a chemist? New research into the Mona Lisa shows that da Vinci may very well have crafted a new type of paint mixture that then endured as the norm for centuries.

By analyzing a minuscule spec of paint culled from the top right corner of the painting, a team of researchers were able to reveal the chemical makeup of the substance. In the resulting paper, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the team describes a “singular mixture of strongly saponified oil with high lead content and a cerussite-depleted lead white pigment.”

Website Link: https://mechanics-conferences.sciencefather.com/

Member Nomination: https://x-i.me/soumemb
Award Nomination: https://x-i.me/mecnom



# Mechanics # Sciencefather # Shorts # Technology # Conference #Awards #Research #Engineering #Tools # Metals #Torque.