Autoradiography
Description
An imaging technique used to record the distribution of radioactive materials in objects placed in close contact with photographic or radiographic film. For cultural heritage artifacts (like easel paintings), neutron beams extracted from nuclear research reactor core (also used for neutron radiography) are used to induce the emission of beta particles in some elements, such as antimony, arsenic, cobalt, copper, gold, manganese, mercury, phosphorus, silver... This allows to discriminate pigments which could not be distinguished through classical X radiography. The physical laws of absorption of neutrons by the various elements are quite different from those for X or gamma rays; carbon, bismuth, lead, silicon, aluminium, tin, zinc, baryum... being quite "transparent"; rare earths, cadmium, boron,gold, silver, cobalt... being quite absorbing rlements.
Synonyms and Related Terms
autoradiographie (Fr.); Autoradiographie (Deut.); auto-radiografia (Port.)
Authority
- C. Barry, La Tour and autoradiography, in Georges de la Tour and his world. Ed P. Conisbee, National Gallery of Art Washington D.C., Yale University Press, New Haven CT (1996)
- C.O. Fischer & al, Autoradiography of paintings, Proc. 5th Conf. on Neutron Radiography Berlin, DGZfP (1996)
- Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Photography, Technology of." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. 16 Jan. 2004 .