Prussian blue facts for kids
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Prussian blue, also known as Berlin blue, is a very dark blue colour. It is special because it was one of the first pigments (colours used in paint) ever made by people, not found in nature. It was discovered by accident in 1704 by two chemists in Berlin, Germany.
This deep blue colour was famously used to dye the uniforms of the Prussian army.
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What is Prussian Blue?
Every colour on a computer screen or website has a special code. For Prussian blue, this code is 003153. This is called a hex triplet. It's a way to tell computers exactly what shade of blue to show.
When you mix red, green, and blue light together to make colours (like on a TV screen), Prussian blue is made with 0 parts red, 49 parts green, and 83 parts blue. This is known as the RGB color model.
Prussian Blue as Medicine
Did you know Prussian blue can be used as a medicine? Since the 1960s, doctors have sometimes given it to people to help remove certain radioactive materials from their bodies. It helps the body get rid of these harmful substances safely.
How Prussian Blue Could Store Computer Data
Prussian blue is a chemical compound, which means it's made of different chemical elements joined together. One of these elements is iron.
Scientists have been experimenting with Prussian blue. They tried replacing some of the iron atoms with another element called cobalt. When this new compound is shone with a red light at a very cold temperature (about -150 C), something amazing happens! The compound changes from not being magnetic (like an "off" switch) to being magnetic (like an "on" switch).
This magnetic change stays until it's deliberately reversed with heat. This happens because tiny parts called electrons move from the cobalt to the iron when light hits it. When heat is added, the electrons move back.
Because it can be turned "on" and "off" in a controlled way, this special magnetic property means Prussian blue could be used in computer storage. It could "remember" binary information, which is how computers store all their data (using 0s and 1s). This idea is still being developed, but it's a very exciting possibility for the future of computers!
Prussian blue is also used by machinists to check how parts wear down.
Other Pages
Images for kids
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The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai, a famous artwork that makes extensive use of Prussian blue
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Fe coordination spheres in idealized Prussian blue
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The unit cell of Prussian blue determined by neutron diffraction.
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Prussian blue stain
See also
In Spanish: Azul de Prusia para niños
