Speaker
Mr
Frikkie De Beer
(South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), South Africa)
Description
Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today and what
we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritages
are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as
unique and diverse as also the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti,
Cradle of Humankind in South Africa, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great
Barrier Reef in Australia and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America
make up our world’s heritage. What makes the concept of World
Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage
sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the
territory on which they are located.
It is a universal need to reveal those important and in most cases
hidden features of findings such as artefacts or fossils in a
non-invasive manner in order to preserve, sometimes only artefact ever
found, in the most a responsible manner for future generations to also
study with possible new developed analytic techniques.
Currently, neutron and based analytical techniques play an
important role in both applied research and practical applications.
Today, various experimental setups of neutron techniques can be used
effectively for imaging purposes. Moreover, recent developments of
methods, which are used primarily for medical applications, like
diagnostics or treatment (e.g., based computer tomography,
tomotherapy, image guided radiotherapy, etc.), use advanced imaging
principles. However, both neutron and imaging techniques do
not offer directly analysis of elemental composition of studied
entities. One important application of neutron and radiation
based imaging techniques is the non-invasive study on objects from
cultural heritage importance, where these probes reveal valuable
hidden information in a non-destructive and non-invasive manner.
The aim of this presentation is to highlight the non-destructive
analysis of cultural artefacts using the capabilities of neutrons and
’s as penetrating probes. Several case studies will be discussed
about neutron and radiography and tomography investigations of
cultural artefacts being practiced at various research institutions
worldwide.
| Country/Organization invited to participate | South Africa |
|---|
Primary author
Mr
Frikkie De Beer
(South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), South Africa)
