On Sat, 14 Jan 2006, Peter Todd wrote:

>> Correction: they just found some of the dead sea scrolls a couple of
>> years ago, and they are still trying to decipher parts thereof. Copper
>> scrolls did not fare much better.
>>
>> My advice: clay tables. modifying a Braille or impact printer to print
>> on (thick) clay paper and then firing it should be perfect. And don't
>> drop the fired tables. ;-)
>
> Hmm... Why not simply print it on stainless steel sheet? Stainless for
> the most part doesn't rust if it's just sitting in an normal air
> atmosphere. It's even a big part of current plans for long-term nuclear
> waste storage.
>
> I'd say laser etch, or CNC route, big sheets of the stuff, 1/8th thick.
> Expensive as hell, but it'd probably be much easier than handling clay
> tablets. I should know, I used to be a potter, clay's nice and all...
> but cracks really easilly in the face of freeze-thaw cycles and simple
> mishandling.
>
> If you really want it to last forever, make it out of indium. That stuff
> just doesn't oxidise, better than gold in that regard. Also expensive,
> very, very expensive... But, imagine SS tablets sputtered with a
> protective indium coating.

I don't think that stainless competes in the same league as fired clay, 
or even glass. Gold is *very* permanent but it is often transformed into 
something else as time passes (other objects), because of its intrinsic 
value. Clay does not have that problem. Etching things into stone also 
works. This can be done mechanically or with acid. There are very few 
'permanent' options on a human scale. Pottery and fired clays (bricks, 
tables, mosaic) are the only known 'media' that convey graphics and 
writing over 5000 years and more. The other known media that survived 
'well' are hewn stone and cave paintings ;-)

Peter
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