engleski

Ion Beam Analytical Methods

Nuclear physics applications in medicine and energy are well known and widely reported. See, for example, the recent report “Nuclear Physics for Medicine”, published by the European Science Foundation [1] or “Energy for the Future: the Nuclear Option”, written by scientists at the European Physical Society (EPS)[2]. Less well known are the many important nuclear and related techniques used for the study, characterisation, 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. Not only is the Division motivated to promote understanding of nuclear issues, it is in a unique position to do this. This review is led by Division board member Anna Macková, Head of the Tandetron Laboratory at the Nuclear Physics Institute, Řež, in the Czech Republic, and the review committee includes four other members of the nuclear physics board interested in this area: Faiçal Azaiez, Johan Nyberg, Eli Piasetzky and myself. To create a truly authoritative account we have invited contributions from leading experts across Europe, and this publication is the combined result of their work. We are grateful to all our contributors for sharing their specialist knowledge with you. Of course there are previous reviews of work in this field which are aimed at experts. See for instance, “Nuclear Techniques for Cultural Heritage Research”, published by the International Atomic Energy Agency [3]. We do not seek to duplicate this work, but rather to present an overview for the more general reader. 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 (see appendix on European Facilities) indicate the enormous effort and importance attached by society to this activity. We are grateful to Prof. Walter Kutschera for writing the introduction to our review. His expertise makes him ideally suited to describe the range of techniques, scope of investigation and the degree of innovation which has made this such an important field of study.

Nuclear Physics ; Cultural Heritage

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