Salt – With this quote from the late Roman statesman, scholar, and writer Flavius ​​Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus begins an email we just received from our friend Dr. Robert Krickl in Vienna.

Following several of Robert's activities, some of which have already been described on the alaturka portal, the next Roman Festival in Brunn am Gebirge is coming up this autumn.

Since we will be participating as part of our project "Understanding and Cultural Journey along Roman Roads," our inquiry about this year's focus was quite appropriate. And (almost) as always, Robert responded with the announcement of a project he tries to implement annually, reflecting his philosophy of life. We are happy to support him in his endeavor by publishing his current project idea and requesting support on his behalf:

Salt, its extraction, transport, and its importance as a foodstuff, preservative, and even currency played a major role in the Roman Empire. We have only known what constitutes its properties and its inner workings for a relatively short time.

This year marks exactly 100 years since the Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of its atomic structure. To commemorate this anniversary, as well as this year's "International Year of Soils" and last year's "International Year of Crystallography" (UNESCO), I have been working on a major project for some time: I am building the world's largest crystal structure model – registered with the Guinness Book of Records. I am assembling 42,875 spheres and a total of 12 km of connecting rods into a sculpture over 3 meters high, which represents a tiny grain of salt magnified approximately one billion times. In November, I will be offering numerous guided tours of the entire model at Vienna City Hall for school classes, kindergartens, and other groups, as well as lectures. Parts of it are already on display in exhibitions and public spaces. This topic and the significance of salt for the Romans and for us today will also be explored at the Brunnen Roman Days.

The Salt Model: Background and Development

What does our world look like on the smallest scale? Why do different materials have their respective properties? And what relevance does this have for our daily lives, for technology, economics, and research? I have dedicated my life to making these topics accessible – and this project, officially registered with the Guinness Book of Records, serves precisely this purpose. Never before has such a large section of a crystal's atomic structure been recreated in a model. Here is an overview of the most important information and answers to frequently asked questions:

Facts and Figures

• The finished model is a cube with an edge length of 3.1 m, it consists of 42,875 red and white spheres,

• and, when connected, nearly 12 km of rods.

• It illustrates the atomic structure of crystals, specifically, the NaCl structure type found in many everyday materials.

• The magnification factor compared to the original is almost one billion,
• which is roughly what a grain of table salt with an edge length of approximately 0.0000096 mm would look like.

Relevance to current events related to salt

• The United Nations (UN) declared 2014 the "International Year of Crystallography"

• and 2015 the "International Year of Soils"—two topics that revolve around what is shown in the model.

• It was exactly 100 years ago that the Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of the crystal structure shown in the model.

As always, children play an important role in my activities: Around the assembly process, there are age-appropriate guided tours, experiments, and lots of interesting information about the background. Many parents have also immortalized their children in the model—because:

"There's a very special feature of this model: each sphere can be personalized. Anyone can leave their mark or give it as a gift to a loved one. Dedications, quotes, messages, wishes, occasions... there are no limits to creativity. These "virtual graffiti" will be displayed on the project's website, and a video presentation featuring all the entries will be shown at each exhibition location. Official certificates and many other services are also available.

There are particularly attractive advertising opportunities for companies, which will be seen by thousands of people, from regional to international audiences. For anyone looking for a special gift, wanting to become part of history, or wishing to support science communication, this is a unique opportunity."

Chronology (Construction Site; Under Construction)

Here you will find the project's milestones. A complete chronicle of events, with all the latest news, can be found on the project's Facebook page. ' ...
• June 18, 2013: Project submitted to Guinness World Records
• November 6, 2013: Registration confirmed, officially registering the world record attempt
• April 4–December 18, 2014: Parts of the model are used for educational purposes in the traveling exhibition for the "International Year of Crystallography" (United Nations) throughout all Austrian federal states, with contributions to the "Long Night of Research" and "Long Night of Museums," lectures, and school and kindergarten projects
• June 25, 2014: Discussions with the City of Vienna: The world record is to be officially set up in 2015 in the inner courtyard of Vienna City Hall
• January 26, 2015: Project presented at the general meeting of the Austrian Mineralogical Society
• February 28–March 1, 2015: One module exhibited at the "Mineralium" trade fair in Vienna's Stadthalle
• April 24, 2015: Presentation of the project at the conference "Crystallography for the next generation: The legacy of IYCr" of the International Union of Crystallography under the auspices of UNESCO, among others, in Rabat, Morocco
• May 28–July 10, 2015: Exhibition of a module in the Mödling Eco-Garden on the occasion of the Lower Austrian Quarter Festival
• May 29, 2015: Contribution to the "Long Night of Churches" in Vienna •
• Outlook: (Further details are being planned and will be continuously updated)
• July 15, 2015: Contribution to the "Children's University Vienna"
• October 3, 2015: Contribution to the "Long Night of Museums" in Vienna
• October 27–November 30, 2015: Setup, presentation, and dismantling in the inner courtyard of Vienna City Hall
• November 7–8, 2015: Exhibition of a module and Themed special exhibition at "Intermineralia Baden" Further information about the salt model
• Project Facebook page (like to follow)
• Organizer's Facebook page (like to follow)
• Organizer's website

Please also read:

The forerunners of the Roman pot

Even the ancient Romans used the wood and fruit of the service tree