BEFORE URANIUM POWERED REACTORS, IT COLOURED GLASS
Introduction
Few elements in history have undergone such a dramatic transformation in meaning as uranium. Today, we see it as a strategic raw material of the atomic age, a source of energy, and a symbol of one of the greatest scientific changes of the 20th century.
For most of its history, however, humanity had no idea what enormous energy was hidden inside this element. Uranium was not a fuel. It was not a military resource. It was not a symbol of modern physics.
It was a colour.
And Jáchymov was one of the places where this story began.
History
Miners in Jáchymov encountered the heavy black ore from the very beginnings of mining in the area. Because it often accompanied silver veins, they long considered it more of an unwanted material. They called it pitchblende – after its dark appearance resembling pitch.
Only later did it become clear that this inconspicuous mineral contained a new chemical element. In 1789, the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth discovered a new element in ore from the Saxon Ore Mountains and named it uranium after the recently discovered planet Uranus.
In the first half of the 19th century, people began searching for its practical uses. However, it was not about energy, but about the ability of uranium compounds to create exceptionally beautiful and stable colours.
Jáchymov pitchblende became an important raw material for the production of uranium pigments. From 1853, industrial production of uranium colours began here, mainly for use in glassmaking and ceramics.
Uranium compounds were able to create a wide range of shades. The best known was yellow to green uranium glass, which became popular throughout Europe. Under ultraviolet light, it also produces a characteristic green glow, making it sought after by collectors to this day.
Objects made from Jáchymov ores therefore had nothing to do with the atomic age – vases, goblets, decorative glass, and ceramic products.
At a time when no one knew what radioactivity was, uranium entered people’s everyday lives mainly as an aesthetic material.
Only the end of the 19th century changed the view of this element forever. In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered the natural radioactivity of uranium, and shortly afterwards Marie Curie-Skłodowska and Pierre Curie began studying uranium ores from Jáchymov.
The same material that gave glass its beautiful colour opened the door to a completely new understanding of matter.
Legacy
The history of Jáchymov uranium shows how the meaning of a single raw material can completely change over the centuries.
At first, it was considered a worthless companion of silver. Then it became a source of colours that decorated European homes. Finally, it became one of the most important elements of modern science and energy production.
Jáchymov was part of all these transformations.
Its mines provided the ore that gave rise to uranium colours. The same place supplied the material that helped reveal the mystery of radioactivity. And uranium itself later became a symbol of a new era in human history.
Before uranium powered reactors and changed global energy production, it helped create beauty hidden in glass.
And this lesser-known story is also one of the things that Jáchymov gave to the world.
