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Nanosecond Neutron Analysis for the search of the lost Leonardo’s masterpiece, the Battle of Anghiari
Abstract
Between 1505 and 1506 Leonardo Da Vinci painted his masterpiece, the Battle of Anghiari, in Palazzo Vecchio’s Hall of 500 in Florence. The unfinished mural remained visible until 1563, when architect Giorgio Vasari undertook a renovation of the Hall and all traces of the Battle of Anghiari were lost. However, scholarly interpretation and scientific evidence suggest that the mural could be on the eastern wall, hidden behind a brick wall built in 1563 by Vasari. This paper discusses the possibility of using NNA/APT (Nanosecond Neutron Analysis/Associated Particle Technique) to establish the presence of the masterpiece by identifying behind the Vasari’s wall chemical elements from the gesso preparation layer of the mural and possibly from its pigments. This paper reports on the experiments run with a simple NNA/APT system and the Monte Carlo simulations that have been carried out in order to outline the experimental setup of an advanced NNA/APT able to detect and locate the tiny amount of gesso and pigments.
... The NTNT can be also used in art and mural restoration when a piece of art is covered by thick layers of different nature (plaster, posterior painting, etc.). The possibility to detect and locate, using the NTNT, chemical elements such as copper, lead, and sulfur that clearly indicate the presence of gesso and pigments was experimentally demonstrated [10]. ...
Each 14 MeV neutron of T(d,n)He4 reaction is accompanied (tagged) by 3.5 MeV alpha-particle emitted in the opposite direction. A position- and time-sensitive alpha-detector measures time and coordinates of the associated alpha-particle for determining time and direction of the neutron escape. A spectrum of gamma rays emitted as a result of interaction of tagged neutrons with nuclei allows the identification of the chemical composition of the irradiated object. The recording of alpha-gamma coincidences within a very narrow time window provides the possibility of background suppression by means of spatial and time discrimination of events. The Nanosecond Tagged Neutron Technology (NTNT) based on this principle has great potentialities in various fields, such as study of neutron scattering, revision of neutron differential cross-sections, measuring the chemical composition of ores in mining industry, detection of explosives, mines, drugs and chemical warfare agents, etc. The Dukhov Research Institute of Automatics produces a complete set of NTNT equipment including neutron generators with built-in alpha-detectors, electronic hardware for alpha-gamma coincidence data acquisition, mobile and stationary NTNT systems for various research, industrial and homeland security applications.
... On the other hand, analytical methods can be invasive and destructive. In many cases, however, sampling cultural artifacts is not permitted and, therefore, the application of non-invasive analytical techniques, such as reflectance spectroscopy [15], Raman spectroscopy [16], XRF spectroscopy [17] or neutron techniques [18,19] as well as mobile atomic force microscopy [20], is mandatory. ...
Cultural Heritage scientists need methodologies to examine Art and Archaeology in order to understand artistic materials and techniques and devise better conservation procedures. This review discusses the most successful and promising applications of Terahertz (THz) technology in Cultural Heritage Science. THz is used in homeland security and for plenty of other industrial sectors and it presents a number of valuable features specifically for the investigation of Art and Archaeology: No radiation risk, low power, non-contact and reflection mode. Recent technical advancements are also making its application fast, mobile and relatively affordable creating a potential for its diffused implementation in museums. While THz is most promising for the investigation of multilayered art, such as paintings, it has been tested on a very large range of artifacts, from manuscripts to mummies and lacquered historical furniture.
With the continuous development of the times, the importance of education is gradually highlighted. English is the second language most Chinese students learn. In the process of learning, students can not only grasp some basic theoretical knowledge, but also constantly cultivate students’ cross-cultural awareness. Through the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness, students can better understand the content of foreign culture and language. At present, many colleges and universities have carried out college English translation teaching based on computer multimedia technology. By comparing and interpreting the cultures of the two countries, the students deepen their impression of foreign cultures and constantly improve their English level, which promotes their better development.
The work is devoted to a quantitative comparison of different inorganic scintillators to be used in neutron-radiation inspection systems. Such systems can be based on the tagged neutron (TN) method and have a significant potential in different applications such as detection of explosives, drugs, mines, identification of chemical warfare agents, assay of nuclear materials and human body composition [1]-[3]. The elemental composition of an inspected object is determined via spectrometry of gammas from the object bombarded by neutrons which are tagged by an alpha-detector built inside a neutron generator. This creates a task to find a quantitative indicator of the object identification quality (via elemental composition) as a function of basic parameters of the γ-detectors, such as their efficiency, energy and time resolutions, which in turn are generally defined by a scintillator of the detector. We have tried to solve the task for a set of four scintillators which are often used in the study of TN method, namely BGO, LaBr3, LYSO, NaI(Tl), whose basic parameters are well known [4]-[7].
There are a number of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) tasks in which it is necessary to discriminate and identify UneXploded Ordnance (UXO) already detected by other means. What we seek is the capacity to characterize in a non-destructive way the munition''s content, usually either explosive or inert (e.g., practice munition), if possible using a fairly mobile system and without direct contact. A number of existing technologies for the direct detection of explosives, applicable in EOD scenarios, are therefore characterized, and corresponding commercially available systems or advanced prototypes identified whenever possible. Some of the techniques are also useful for the detection of buried UXO or landmines, to which we refer whenever appropriate. We first concentrate on bulk explosive detection, in particular on neutron based systems exploiting gamma spectroscopy, which have the potential of detecting the explosive''s nitrogen content and/or its other constituents (carbon, oxygen and hydrogen). Candidate systems exist, although most of them have as primary aim the discrimination of chemical munition. We then describe the application of trace explosive detection techniques, which seems to be less mature also due to the large number of parameters influencing the variables of interest (explosive vapor and particle concentration). Sampling is in this case of primary importance.
In this paper a high-frequency large-bandwidth synthetic aperture penetrating radar intended for the inspection of masonry walls, and its application to intrawall investigation of an important Heritage structure in Florence, Italy, are described. The radar system has been conceived and designed for non-contact operation, in particular for allowing walls covered by paintings to be inspected avoiding damages to the surface artworks. The radar signal was a Continuous-Wave Step-Frequency (CW-SF) waveform, sampling a 4GHz bandwidth at 10GHz center frequency, thus providing relatively high resolution images of the investigated structures. Cross-range resolution is provided by applying a synthetic aperture approach, obtained by mechanically moving the radar antenna along a 2m length aperture. In order to assess the radar performances and its detection capability, laboratory tests on masonry facilities were preliminarily performed. Finally, an extensive measurement campaign was carried out on a famous 16th century structure: the ‘Hall of 500’, in Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), in Florence (Italy). This investigation was aimed at finding evidence of possible discontinuities in the masonry walls, where fragments of the famous fresco the ‘Battle of Anghiari’ by Leonardo da Vinci could be hidden.
One of the most promising methods of detection of hidden explosives and other dangerous substances is the so-called, “neutron
in, gamma out” technique. The main idea of this method consists in irradiation of suspicious object or volume with neutrons
and measurement of secondary γ-radiation caused by interaction of neutrons with the material of the irradiated object. Different
chemical elements produce different characteristic γ-radiation as a result of inelastic scattering or capture of neutrons.
By decomposing measured γ-spectra into contributions from different chemical elements, one can obtain elemental composition
of the explored object and thus determine whether it contains hazardous (e.g. explosive) material or not.
Portable multi-sensor for detection and identification of explosive substances
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