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一只玻璃杯，为什么从前面看是绿色、从后面打光却变成红色？10 月 25 日，英国《卫报》报道了谢菲尔德大学的一项复原工作。文章先介绍大英博物馆里的“莱库尔格斯杯”：它制作于公元 4 世纪，杯身刻着希腊神话中国王莱库尔格斯被葡萄藤缠住的场景，2022 年被国际评审选为“世界七大玻璃奇迹”之一。接着说明变色的秘密：玻璃里含有极小的金、银微粒，大约比一粒沙子小一千倍。研究人员用源自罗马双色玻璃碎片的古代配方，让这些微粒在高温玻璃冷却时生长出来。光线穿过玻璃时，微粒挡住蓝光和绿光，只让红光和橙光通过；光线从表面反射时，微粒把光散开，杯子就显出绿色。然后，伦敦大学学院的专家评价说，这次复制比 20 世纪 60 年代的类似尝试更接近原杯的颜色；由于颜色取决于玻璃在熔炉中的位置，罗马工匠很可能难以控制，做出这只杯子带有运气成分。最后，文章提到红绿两色或许象征葡萄成熟的说法，以及一件运用这种效果的新作品将在谢菲尔德展出。注意：象征意义和“运气”都是专家的推测与看法。阅读时可留意 when 引导的条件句如何对比两种光线情况，以及 so 如何引出结果。

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In the British Museum sits a Roman glass cup that seems to change its mind. Under normal light, the 1,600-year-old Lycurgus Cup looks jade green. When light shines from behind it, the same cup turns ruby red. For centuries, historians and glass-makers have wondered how the Romans made it. Now scientists at the University of Sheffield in England say they have copied its colour change, The Guardian reported on 25 October.

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大英博物馆里有一只罗马玻璃杯，它好像会“改变主意”。在普通光线下，这只有 1600 年历史的莱库尔格斯杯看起来是玉绿色；当光从它背后照过来时，同一只杯子会变成宝石红。几个世纪以来，历史学家和玻璃工匠一直好奇罗马人是怎么做出它的。据《卫报》10 月 25 日报道，英国谢菲尔德大学的科学家表示，他们已经复制出了它的变色效果。

The cup was made in the fourth century. Its outside shows a scene from an old Greek story, in which King Lycurgus is caught by a vine after fighting against Dionysus, the god of wine. In 2022, an international panel named it one of the seven glass wonders of the world.

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这只杯子制作于公元 4 世纪。杯身外侧描绘了一个古希腊故事中的场景：国王莱库尔格斯与酒神狄俄尼索斯作对后，被一根葡萄藤缠住。2022 年，一个国际评审小组将它评为“世界七大玻璃奇迹”之一。

The secret is very small. The glass contains tiny pieces of gold and silver, each about a thousand times smaller than a grain of sand. Lisa Hollands, a technician at the university, worked with Caroline Jackson, an expert on Roman glass, and used an ancient recipe based on a piece of Roman two-coloured glass. They made thick, hot glass, and as it cooled from more than 1,000C, gold and silver crystals began to grow inside it.

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秘密藏在极小的东西里。这种玻璃含有微小的金、银颗粒，每一颗大约比一粒沙子小一千倍。谢菲尔德大学的技术员丽莎·霍兰兹与罗马玻璃专家卡罗琳·杰克逊合作，使用了一份根据一块罗马双色玻璃碎片得出的古代配方。他们制出浓稠的高温玻璃，当它从 1000 摄氏度以上冷却时，金和银的晶体开始在玻璃内部生长。

Hollands explained why the colour changes. White light is a mix of many colours. When light passes through the glass, the metal pieces block blue and green light, so only red and orange get through. When light hits the surface and comes back, the pieces scatter it, and the cup looks green. “To me, it’s magic,” she said, adding that earlier attempts had limited success.

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霍兰兹解释了颜色变化的原因。白光由许多种颜色混合而成。光穿过这种玻璃时，金属颗粒会挡住蓝光和绿光，所以只有红光和橙光能够透过；光照到表面再反射回来时，颗粒会把光散射开，杯子就显得是绿色。她说：“在我看来，这就是魔法。”她还说，以前的尝试只取得了有限的成功。

Ian Freestone, an expert at University College London, said a glass with similar colours was made in the 1960s, but the Sheffield work is much closer to the real shades. He believes the project shows how hard the job was. The colour depended on where the glass was placed in the furnace, so the Romans probably found it very difficult to control. In his view, with this cup they were simply lucky.

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伦敦大学学院的专家伊恩·弗里斯通说，20 世纪 60 年代曾有人做出颜色相近的玻璃，但谢菲尔德的成果更接近原杯的真实色调。他认为，这个项目显示了这项工作有多难。玻璃的颜色取决于它在熔炉中摆放的位置，所以罗马人很可能难以控制颜色。在他看来，做出这只杯子时，罗马人只是运气好。

Some experts think the red and green may stand for grapes becoming ripe, so the cup could have been used at a special drinking event. A glass artist, Elliot Walker, has now made a modern piece using the effect. It will be shown at a festival in Sheffield from 6 to 15 November before going to a glass museum.

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一些专家认为，红色和绿色可能象征葡萄成熟，因此这只杯子也许曾用于某种特别的饮酒活动。玻璃艺术家埃利奥特·沃克现在已经利用这种效果创作了一件现代作品。它将于 11 月 6 日至 15 日在谢菲尔德的一个节日活动中展出，之后送往一家玻璃博物馆。

新闻来源

• The Guardian · ‘It’s magic’: scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass (Dalya Alberge, 25 Oct 2026)

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