Nuclear Physics for Cultural Heritage

Nuclear physics applications in medicine and energy are well known and widely reported. Less well known are the many important nuclear and related techniques used for the study, characterization, assessment and preservation of cultural heritage. There has been enormous progress in this field in recent years and the current review aims to provide the public with a popular and accessible account of this work. The Nuclear Physics Division of the EPS represents scientists from all branches of nuclear physics across Europe. One of its aims is the dissemination of knowledge about nuclear physics and its applications. This review is led by Division board member Anna Macková, Head of the Tandetron Laboratory at the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the review committee includes four other members of the nuclear physics board interested in this area: Faiçal Azaiez, Johan Nyberg, Eli Piasetzky and Douglas MacGregor. To create a truly authoritative account, the Scientific Editors have invited contributions from leading experts across Europe, and this publication is the combined result of their work. The review is extensively illustrated with important discoveries and examples from archaeology, pre-history, history, geography, culture, religion and curation, which underline the breadth and importance of this field. The large number of groups and laboratories working in the study and preservation of cultural heritage across Europe indicate the enormous effort and importance attached by society to this activity

TECHNART 2017. Non-destructive and microanalytical techniques in art and cultural heritage. Book of abstracts

440 p.TECHNART2017 is the international biannual congress on the application of Analytical Techniques in Art and Cultural Heritage. The aim of this European conference is to provide a scientific forum to present and promote the use of analytical spectroscopic techniques in cultural heritage on a worldwide scale to stimulate contacts and exchange experiences, making a bridge between science and art. This conference builds on the momentum of the previous TECHNART editions of Lisbon, Athens, Berlin, Amsterdam and Catania, offering an outstanding and unique opportunity for exchanging knowledge on leading edge developments. Cultural heritage studies are interpreted in a broad sense, including pigments, stones, metal, glass, ceramics, chemometrics on artwork studies, resins, fibers, forensic applications in art, history, archaeology and conservation science. The meeting is focused in different aspects: - X-ray analysis (XRF, PIXE, XRD, SEM-EDX). - Confocal X-ray microscopy (3D Micro-XRF, 3D Micro-PIXE). - Synchrotron, ion beam and neutron based techniques/instrumentation. - FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. - UV-Vis and NIR absorption/reflectance and fluorescence. - Laser-based analytical techniques (LIBS, etc.). - Magnetic resonance techniques. - Chromatography (GC, HPLC) and mass spectrometry. - Optical imaging and coherence techniques. - Mobile spectrometry and remote sensing

Development of in situ non destructive analytical methodologies for the conservation diagnosis of urban built heritage

226 p.Se desarrollan metodologías analíticas no destructivas para el diagnostico in situ del Patrimonio Construido afectado por factores ambientales. A lo largo del trabajo, la caracterización y severidad de daño sufrido por los materiales es evaluada en casos reales, prestando especial atención a establecer el origen y el proceso químico involucrado en las patologías, contribuyendo a la preservación. Además, para comprobar la efectividad de un innovativo método de conservación, se realiza su monitoreo a través de un enfoque multianalítico, evaluando su capacidad para reducir el deterioro así como, para determinar los requerimientos para su implementación.Las metas propuestas han sido logradas gracias al desarrollo de diferentes metodologías, destacando la utilidad de la espectroscopia Raman. Los hándicaps resultantes del análisis de campo han sido reducidos gracias a la implementación de DRIFT. Paralelamente, técnicas como SEM y XRF han sido propuestas para detectar la capacidad de penetración de los agentes de deterioro así como, IC para cuantificar la severidad del daño salino, de acuerdo a la legislación existente. A sí mismo, los datos cuantitativos son sometidos a estudios quimiométricos y termodinámicos con objeto de corroborar el análisis espectroscopico. Finalmente, dadas las diferencias observadas en los análisis por cambios estacionales, se llevo a cabo un estudio para describir el comportamiento del contenido salino bajo condiciones climáticas variables con objeto de seleccionar las acciones preventivas, evitando la necesidad de tomar decisiones solamente basadas en la experiencia del conservador

What’s On the Surface Does Matter: The Conservation of Applied Surface Decoration of Historic Stained Glass Windows

A stained glass window is both an architectural building element and an individual work of art. Like architecture, a stained glass window is composed of a variety of materials, mainly glass, lead, and surface decoration, each of which has its own conservation issues. Surface decoration, which includes vitreous glass paint, silver stain, and enamels, is the component of a stained glass window that is sometimes underappreciated. While it may not pose a major threat to the physical stability of the window or the safety of the window’s environment, it is the decoration that defines the windows as works of art, with imagery that holds the window’s history, including a direct view into the traditions, ideals, and beliefs of the people of their time. The conservation of the surface decoration of stained glass windows has never been fully analyzed, and both glazing and conservation professionals are constantly seeking information regarding the history of the materials and techniques used in order to create or restore a stained glass window. With conservation, the methods and techniques used to maintain and conserve the decoration will vary depending on a number of circumstances, including the location of the window, the history and traditions of the people involved, and the tools available to the conservators. As with all conservation fields, there are also ethical considerations to address in order to be sure that the authenticity of each work is maintained. For this history, it is also important to note the past restoration techniques used on these types of decoration, as well as what is being used today. This includes successes and failures, both of which bring essential information to the conservator. Each window brings with it an entirely new history and set of decoration conservation problems so there are no universal solutions for this field. Stained glass is a fascinating field because it combines the worlds of art and architecture with a single object and the surface decoration plays an important role in this. By analyzing the history and techniques of these three surface decorations, it is possible to not only preserve an underappreciated element inherent to these historic stained glass windows, but also the overall aesthetic of true works of art that serve to enhance the buildings in which they reside

Restoring medieval stained-glass transparency: use of new task specific luminescent ionic liquids for corrosion crusts removal

Transparency is a fundamental feature to preserve on a stained-glass panel. The passage of light is the essence of this art form and, as so, a crucial piece of its original intention, both through the colored glass as through the paintings. Medieval stained-glass is characterized by a relatively high content of alkali and alkali-earth ion oxides, mainly potassium, calcium and sodium, and low contents of silica compared to contemporary glass. These ions are leached, and when in contact with the atmosphere a gel-layer (hydrated silica-rich surface) is formed, and consequently there is the formation of a corrosion crust. This is mainly composed by insoluble salts such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3), sulfate (CaSO4) and oxalate (CaC2O4), which are very difficult to remove from the glass surface. The methods that present higher efficiency for the removal of those crusts – like chelate agents (e.g. EDTA solutions), weak acids and ionic resins – are the same that may induce damage or long-term risks to the glass surface. The aim of this research was to develop a new product – an ionic liquid (IL) – for the removal of medieval stained-glass corrosion that is effective and harmless both for the stained-glass and for the user. To assure the complete removal of both corrosion and cleaning material (the ionic liquid) after the procedure, the IL was functionalized using a light emitting marker – intrinsically luminescent ionic liquid. It was our objective to have an IL with a dual function: having a binding site for metal cations (in this case, Ca2+), while exhibiting bright fluorescence. The effects on the surface of model glass of three different ILs, an EDTA solution and the effect of a high relative humidity (RH) environment are described and compared. A comparison between the efficiency of two ILs and an EDTA solution for the corrosion crusts removal was made using corroded archaeological stained glass samples. The tests performed confirmed the effectiveness of the cleaning material in removing the corrosion crusts, and also demonstrated that there were no detected alterations to the glass surface even when in direct contact with the ionic liquids for a long period of time