A pioneer of this approach is Roman Kaiser, a Swiss fragrance chemist who developed a technology called “headspace” in the 1970s that made it possible to capture and analyze the scent given off by flowers and other objects. Using a glass container, a pump, and a sampling trap that gathers molecules using a solvent or coated surface, the system allows a chemist or perfumer to gather the volatile scent molecules exuded by an object without harming it.[...]
Perfumers like New York-based Christopher Brosius have used headspace to re-create less obvious smells, like the odor of an old fur coat or a well-worn paperback. Their goal is an artistic one, but the same approach could serve as the beginning of a database. Imagine having a library of scents specific to a particular time or place, from the strangely sweet aroma of a plastic-wrapped CD case to the blend of horse dung and candy that permeates Boston’s Faneuil Hall.
Other historians are attempting to recreate scents from the past, from a cologne used by Napoleon Bonaparte to a Viking-era latrine. What historical smell would you like to experience?
Link -via Althouse | Photo by Flickr user Dennis Wong used under Creative Commons license
"Mwanasayansi wa kemia wa Uswisi Roman Kaiser alianzisha teknolojia ya ""headspace"" katika miaka ya 1970 ambayo ilifanya iwezekane kukamata na kuchambua harufu inayotolewa na maua na vitu vingine." Kwa kutumia chombo cha kioo, pampu, na mtego wa kuchukua sampuli ambayo hukusanya molekuli kwa kutumia kioevu au uso uliofunikwa, mfumo huo huruhusu mtaalamu wa kemia au mtengenezaji wa manukato kukusanya molekuli za harufu inayotokana na kitu bila kuiharibu. Wauzaji wa manukato kama Christopher Brosius wa New York wametumia nafasi ya kichwa kuunda tena harufu zisizo dhahiri, kama harufu ya koti la manyoya ya zamani au kitabu cha karatasi kilichovunjika. Lengo lao ni la kisanii, lakini mbinu hiyohiyo yaweza kutumika kama mwanzo wa hifadhidata. Fikiria kuwa na maktaba ya harufu maalum kwa wakati au mahali fulani, kutoka harufu ya ajabu tamu ya plastiki-wrapped CD kesi kwa mchanganyiko wa farasi mbolea na peremende kwamba permeates Boston's Faneuil Hall. Wanahistoria wengine wanajaribu kuunda tena harufu za wakati uliopita, kuanzia harufu ya cologne iliyotumiwa na Napoleon Bonaparte hadi choo cha enzi ya Viking. Ungependa kuonja harufu gani ya kihistoria? -via Link Althouse | Picha na mtumiaji wa Flickr Dennis Wong kutumika chini ya leseni ya Creative Commons