3 ms·
Black ink on white paper, stored in a cool dark place, will last many decades. If may fade but will remain readable. Want centuries? Use skin parchment. Milleni
by sandworm101 8mo ago
Black ink on white paper, stored in a cool dark place, will last many decades. If may fade but will remain readable. Want centuries? Use skin parchment. Millenia? An engraving pen on glass. Going for longer? Take a grinder to a block of granite, but the real problem there is the lack of geologically-stable storage on this planet.
- nine_k 8mo agoGranite is heavy and brittle. Instead, take a plate made of platinum or iridium, and engrave information on it. It offers excellent mechanical, chemical, and thermal durability. It can sink in volcanic lava and then hammered back out from the resulting rock, intact. (Expensive though.)
- GJim 8mo ago> Instead, take a plate made of platinum or iridium No no no no no! Archival data should never be made on intrinsically valuable material; doing so makes it subject to theft or re-use for something "better". Example: There is a reason why more marble statues survive from antiquity than bronze statues.... Bronze has an intrinsic value (theft) and future artists would also melt down existing bronze statues to make something "better".
- rambambram 8mo agoA couple of millennia might suffice. ;) Thanks for the input. The engraving pen on glass is a good one. Any experience with it?
- ian-g 8mo agoAn engraving pen on glass? Why not get some sheet glass and a stick of color. Write it directly onto the glass _in glass_