8 mo. ago • 85%

We Finally Know How Ancient Roman Concrete Was Able to Last Thousands of Years

www.sciencealert.com We Finally Know How Ancient Roman Concrete Was Able to Last Thousands of Years

The ancient Romans were masters of building and engineering, perhaps most famously represented by the aqueducts.

34 comments

Every year we seem to get an article about how we've finally discovered how Romans had really good concrete, as if we've not already known for ages.

The issue has always been about logistics, cost, time to produce, etc — not because we had no idea how the Romans did it.

202
- This plus extreme selection bias. There's plenty of concrete that did not last for thousands of years.
  
  99
  
  "They don't make things like they used to. See that tube radio over there? It's 75 years old and still working! A rare find!"
  
  39
- And also fucking 16 wheelers. Romans did not drive 80 ton (made up number. I don't know how heavy big trucks are. But I'm Shure they are lighter than ancient wagons. To be honest I just hate cars and I want to use a scientific discussion to push my personal political view.) vehicles.
  
  34
  
  Did you learn your usage of parentheticals from David Foster Wallace?
  
  35
- Thousands of years, to be exact.
  
  22
let me guess, the didn't fill it with iron that would corrode and expand and blow out the concrete? or the fact that it has an excess of fired lime that re-seals cracks?

72
- You do know that rebar frames are completely essential for most concrete construction right? It's not some conspiracy to induce failure. Concrete by itself can only handle compression forces - the rebar allows it to handle tension, torsion and sheering.
  
  132
  
  I'm guessing they do, but it does also reduce the life of the concrete. Modern concrete structures would be impossible without rebar, so that makes it a good trade, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a trade.
  
  20
  
  Rebar is a god damn conspiracy against the youth my dude
  
  2
- Yep, it’s the the lime. And: “ The team is now working on commercializing their concrete as a more environmentally friendly alternative to current concretes.”
  
  68
  
  Quick lime as a 'concrete' is nothing new, or newly rediscovered though... The story seems to come up every few years, and anyone that has used a fluidised lime boiler knows how good quick lime is at forming concrete.
  
  68
  
  that'd be great, a lot of buildings are torn down just because the concrete cracks.
  
  i'd be interested in seeing how using better concrete impacts overall costs and of course emissions. because the building ends up standing for a lot longer, the temperature isolation becomes very sub-par over time. that would increase total energy consumption compared to buildings that are frequently rebuilt.
  
  but very promising.
  
  4
- the iron is a great way to increase tensile strength, but decreases lifespan, rust free metals would also be much nore expensive.
  
  24
  
  Epoxy covered rebar exists as does one made from stainless steel. It's just quite pricey so it's rarely used unless absolutely necessary. Rust is generally not an issue as long as the rebar is deep inside the concrete. When it's close to the surface and gets exposed to elements is when the problems start.
  
  11
  
  Wdym? Just replace the iron rebar with gold
  
  6
i thought they finally caught on with the blood sacrifices~

4
Does it have something to do with not driving thousands of semi-trucks over it every day?

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