r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Nov 03 '19

Chemistry Scientists replaced 40 percent of cement with rice husk cinder, limestone crushing waste, and silica sand, giving concrete a rubber-like quality, six to nine times more crack-resistant than regular concrete. It self-seals, replaces cement with plentiful waste products, and should be cheaper to use.

https://newatlas.com/materials/rubbery-crack-resistant-cement/
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u/ImFamousOnImgur Nov 03 '19

Yup. It’s quite amazing the amount of knowledge they had. A lot of that knowledge was lost when the empire fell.

They think the secret to the quality was the volcanic rock used, and if I recall, it was especially good at setting underwater even.

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u/Opeewan Nov 03 '19

There's a bit more to it than that, salt plays a big part in it:

https://www.nature.com/news/seawater-is-the-secret-to-long-lasting-roman-concrete-1.22231

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '19 edited Jan 24 '21

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u/stellvia2016 Nov 04 '19

IMHO in many cases of how did they manage X so long ago, you have to remember the timescales involved, and some of these trades were someone's life's work. Carpenter. Smith. Tanner. Porter. Multiple generations of families worked at and passed down knowledge focused on a single trade.

And I wonder if someone else can chime in on if Rome sponsored researchers to study things like this that had obvious empire-wide applications.