Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 4
Monday–Friday, March 13–17, 2017; New Orleans, Louisiana
Session S28: Physics Tools for Cultural Heritage InvestigationsInvited Undergraduate
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Sponsoring Units: FIP Chair: Roy (Jerry) Peterson, University of Colorado, Boulder Room: 291 |
Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:15AM - 11:51AM |
S28.00001: Age and Provenance-Physics Methods in Cultural Heritage Studies Invited Speaker: Michael Wiescher |
Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:51AM - 12:27PM |
S28.00002: Ibn al-Haytham and His Influence on Post-Medieval Western Culture Invited Speaker: Charles Falco Born in Basra in 965, but doing most of his work in Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque, Ibn al-Haytham (Latinized as Alhazen or Alhacen) wrote nearly one hundred works on topics as diverse as optics, poetry and politics. For nearly four hundred years his treatment of a particular geometry of reflection from flat and curved surfaces has been known as "Alhazen's problem," and today al-Haytham is primarily known for his writings on geometrical optics, astronomy, and mathematics. However, as I will discuss, with his landmark seven-volume Kit\={a}b al-Man\={a}zir [Book of Optics], published sometime between 1028 and 1038, al-Haytham made intellectual contributions that subsequently were incorporated throughout the core of post-Medieval Western culture. His seminal work on the human vision system initiated what remains an unbroken chain of development that connects 21st century optical scientists with the 11th century Ibn al-Haytham. The noted science historian, David Lindberg, wrote that "Alhazen was undoubtedly the most significant figure in the history of optics between antiquity and the seventeenth century." Impressive and accurate as that characterization is, our recent discoveries show that it significantly understates the impact that al-Haytham had on areas as wide-ranging as the theology, literature, art, and science of Europe. Portions of this work was done in collaboration with David Hockney. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:27PM - 1:03PM |
S28.00003: Laser Ablation Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (LA-SERS) for the Characterization of Organic Colorants in Cultural Heritage Invited Speaker: Pablo Londero The characterization of artistic practice throughout history often requires measurements of material composition with microscopic resolution, either due to the fine detail of the material composition or to the amount of sample available. This problem is exacerbated for the detection of organic colorants, which are often embedded in a complex matrix (e.g. oil, natural fibers) and in low concentration due to their high tinting strength. Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is increasingly used in detection of organic colorants in cultural heritage due to its high sensitivity and inherent preferential sensitivity to small organic molecules. This talk will discuss recent results from a new SERS measurement technique, in which laser ablation is used as a micro-sampling method onto a SERS-active film to characterize art samples with microscopic precision and sensitivity comparable to many mass spectrometry measurements. Furthermore, the nature of the sampling method provides built-in benefits to other SERS-based techniques, such as more quantitative characterization of mixtures, improved sensitivity to some analytes, and reduced background interference. Examples will be shown for measurements of reference materials and art objects, including a restored 16$^{\mathrm{th}}$-century dish and a Renaissance fresco, The Incredulity of San Thomas, by Luca Signorelli. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 16, 2017 1:03PM - 1:39PM |
S28.00004: Applications of Muon Radiography Invited Speaker: Elena Guardincerri Cosmic-ray muons are free, ubiquitous, very penetrating particles. Muon radiography takes advantage of them to probe objects that, because of their thickness or the shielding around them, would be out of the reach of more traditional radiographic techniques. I will briefly review the different techniques that are currently used to perform cosmic-ray muon radiography and discuss some applications to actual problems. I will discuss, in particular, the use of cosmic ray muons to assess the content of dry casks containing spent nuclear fuel, an important task to maintain continuity of knowledge over the fuel itself and avoid its diversion. I will then discuss the use of cosmic ray muons to image the interior of thick walls for historic preservation purposes and briefly review other applications. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 16, 2017 1:39PM - 2:15PM |
S28.00005: Analysis of Thousands of Prehistoric Mediterranean Obsidian Artifacts Using a Nondestructive Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer Invited Speaker: Robert Tykot A portable, hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometer has been used for a decade to elementally analyze prehistoric obsidian artifacts in the Mediterranean. Nearly 400 geological obsidian samples and 7500 obsidian artifacts have been analyzed. The pXRF can distinguish all individual sources, as well as assign artifacts specifically to most subsources. For the island sources of Lipari, Pantelleria, Sardinia, and Melos, it is important to address the usage of obsidian from specific subsources due to human selection based on physical properties of the raw material and their production practices, which may have changed over time from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The analysis of 50 or more artifacts from 60 different archaeological sites allows for statistical comparison between sites, and their contexts, geographic areas (e.g. coastal/inland, highland/lowland) and distance from geological sources. The frequency of transport between island sources and mainland sites is suggestive of maritime capabilities also for the transport of domesticated animals, ceramics, and other materials. This presentation will specifically address potential limitations of the portable XRF, including non-destructive surface analysis of potentially heterogeneous materials, and limited trace element detection compared to other analytical methods, versus its highly beneficial ``package'' of analyzing great numbers of artifacts non-destructively and rapidly without needing to export them from museums and facilities in many countries. [Preview Abstract] |
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