Radiation Physics for Preservation of the Cultural Heritage

This volume brings together examples of the application of the major radiation techniques existing today to a wide variety of cultural heritage specimens. It fulfils the needs of conservation institutions and museums, which frequently make recourse to these techniques to obtain thorough information on many types of materials. The book is arranged in four major topical sections grouping the rich assortment of non-destructive instrumental solutions. Within each section can be found a large diversity of solutions achieved by the specialists in cultural heritage conservation. Section I illustrates the impact of radiation techniques in the conservation of cultural heritage. It discusses the relationship between physics and the humanities, and introduces the large assortment of non-destructive techniques using radiation, which are applied today to cultural heritage artefacts. Section II presents some fundamental aspects of radiation physics, which can be used successfully for improving the quality of the measurement and for extracting more hidden information. Section III is devoted to the experimental application of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) under different setups (portable XRF, micro XRF, synchrotron radiation XRF) to archaeometallurgical investigations; pigments in wood carving; old master prints; glasswork; frescoes; and monuments. Section IV brings together applications of techniques which require excitation with highly energetic x- or gamma-rays (Compton scattering), charged particles (PIXE, EPMA), neutrons (PGAA), special setups (tomography), and lower energy regimes of the electromagnetic spectrum (spectral analysis). These articles describe applications to marble and stone tombstones and mural support of frescoes; the study of manufacturing techniques of artworks; vitrified terracotta; historical photographs; metals, stones and pottery; Egyptian corn-mummies; and XVIII century paintings.