What does salad dressing have in common with building conservation? Olive oil.
　　建築保護中通常用到的沙拉醬調料包含什麼呢？橄欖油。

　　Researchers led by Karen Wilson in Cardiff, Wales, discovered that oleic acid, a component of the food staple, has just the right properties to make an excellent coating to help preserve historic structures.
　　Cardiff，Wales由Karen Wilson領導的研究者們發現人們主食的油酸成分正好具有一種形成優良塗層的性質，這能幫助保護歷史建築。

　　Some great historic buildings, such as the York Minster cathedral in England (pictured), are made from limestone, a popular material because it was cheap, plentiful and easy to build with. Unfortunately, limestone is also extremely vulnerable to pollution, especially acid rain.
　　有些著名古建築如英格蘭的約克大教堂（英國最大的哥特式教堂）就是由石灰岩構成，因為這一流行材料便宜、豐富，而且很容易搭建。不幸的是，石灰岩也極容易被污染物破壞，尤其是酸雨。

　　Previous attempts at creating protective coatings failed because they were too thick: They blocked pollutants, but also prevented limestone from expanding and contracting with changes in temperature, leading to structural damage.
　　前面嘗試過創造的防護材料塗層都失敗了，因為它們都太厚重： 這雖然阻擋了酸雨，但同時也阻止了石灰岩在溫度變化時的熱脹冷縮，進而導致建築本身受損。

　　The new oleic acid coating is inherently hydrophobic, repelling water and any pollutants, and it allows the material to react to temperature fluctuations naturally. In the words of the researchers, it allows the stone to "breathe."
　　新的油酸塗層具有天然的縮水和排水及其他雜物的特性，也不會阻止材料本身在溫度自然變化時的正常張縮反應。用研究者們的話說，讓石頭“呼吸”。

　　The oleic coating is also remarkably thin, just about a nanometer thick, allowing it to conform to even the smallest cracks and imperfections in the structure. Many conservation groups are now interested in putting this historic food supply to use protecting historic buildings.
　　這種油性塗層十分薄，只有大約一毫微米的厚度，能夠深入覆蓋建築中哪怕極小的一些裂縫和瑕疵。現在許多保護團體開始將這種歷史悠久的食物的成分用於保護同樣歷史悠久的古建築中。