Interview with Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laser research head at the Laboratory Research Centre ENEA Frascati on his examination of the Shroud of Turin.
The Shroud of Turin: modern photo of the face, positive left, negative right. Negative has been contrast enhanced.
In the interview Dr. Lazzaro believes that a burst of radiation created the image on the Shroud and it could not have been done during medieval times in Europe. The coloration on the cloth has been duplicated in the laboratory with a specific burst of excimer laser radiation.
The rectangular piece of linen long 4.4 meters wide and 1.1 meters, which is imprinted front and back with an image of a scourged individual who died on a cross, has become one of the most studied objects in the world. Lazzaro says it would take about 14,000 excimer lasers to create the entire image on the complete Shroud.
The Shroud of Turin: modern photo of the face, positive left, negative right. Negative has been contrast enhanced.
Credit: Wikipedia
In the interview Dr. Lazzaro believes that a burst of radiation created the image on the Shroud and it could not have been done during medieval times in Europe. The coloration on the cloth has been duplicated in the laboratory with a specific burst of excimer laser radiation.
The rectangular piece of linen long 4.4 meters wide and 1.1 meters, which is imprinted front and back with an image of a scourged individual who died on a cross, has become one of the most studied objects in the world. Lazzaro says it would take about 14,000 excimer lasers to create the entire image on the complete Shroud.
According to Christian tradition, the Shroud wrapped Jesus' body and the image imprinted would, therefore, be that of Christ, interest in the Shroud is not only one for the world's religious history, but also science.
Credit: Wikipedia
"The Shroud is a scientific enigma to many people,"explains Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, research head at the Excimer Laser Laboratory at the Research Centre ENEA Frascati. He says the questions surrounding the Shroud are numerous.
"The measure of radiometric dating done with carbon 14, for example, has placed the origin of the shroud in the Middle Ages (1260-1390), but this measure seems to have suffered both material calculation errors and problems of contamination, and is in contrast with many textile, iconographic, historical clues suggesting that this cloth is older than is revealed by the radiometric dating. "
The main question, however, seems to concern the realization of this image that has chemical and physical characteristics virtually impossible to replicate today , and even more so in the Middle Ages or in ancient times. "Among the many peculiar features, the image looks like a photographic negative, the color resides only in a very superficial layer of the threads of the fabric and its nuances contain three-dimensional information. Numerous traces of blood (blood, serum bilirubin 1 ) are fully compliant on the cloth to a man crucified and deeply traumatized, and the lack of image beneath the bloodstains suggests that the blood has shielded itself from the flax because of the picture, then the blood is deposited before the formation of the image. "
Full length of the Shroud of Turin in negative view
Credit: Wikipedia
"The Shroud is a scientific enigma to many people,"explains Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, research head at the Excimer Laser Laboratory at the Research Centre ENEA Frascati. He says the questions surrounding the Shroud are numerous.
"The measure of radiometric dating done with carbon 14, for example, has placed the origin of the shroud in the Middle Ages (1260-1390), but this measure seems to have suffered both material calculation errors and problems of contamination, and is in contrast with many textile, iconographic, historical clues suggesting that this cloth is older than is revealed by the radiometric dating. "
The main question, however, seems to concern the realization of this image that has chemical and physical characteristics virtually impossible to replicate today , and even more so in the Middle Ages or in ancient times. "Among the many peculiar features, the image looks like a photographic negative, the color resides only in a very superficial layer of the threads of the fabric and its nuances contain three-dimensional information. Numerous traces of blood (blood, serum bilirubin 1 ) are fully compliant on the cloth to a man crucified and deeply traumatized, and the lack of image beneath the bloodstains suggests that the blood has shielded itself from the flax because of the picture, then the blood is deposited before the formation of the image. "
Dr. Di Lazzaro why are you interested in the Shroud?
Curiosity is one of the main features of the scientists. In front of the Shroud image, rather than ask the question "when?" In Frascati, we wondered "how?". Some time ago we saw some pictures of the tissue under the microscope of the Shroud of Turin and we have noticed a similarity with the fibers of fabric that we had with our color lasers on behalf of some textile industries. We wondered if it was possible, with our knowledge and technology, to produce a shroud-like image, and we turned to one of the greatest Italian Shroud, Professor Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua.
What are the your experiments and what were you able to show?
The results went beyond our expectations. We have shown that a pulse of ultraviolet light 2 very short (a few billionths of a second) in a narrow range of values of energy and power density can be colored with the same chromaticity image on the Shroud linen fabric in a very superficial , in practice only the outermost layers of the single linen thread.
More precisely, each linen thread (which has a diameter of about 0.3 mm) consists of about 200 fibrils 3 . We managed to paint the first layer of fibers exposed to laser light, the so-called "primary cell wall" of linen fiber, 0.2 micrometers thick thin film surrounding the fiber, leaving the inside of the fibril is not the same color. This is one of the characteristics of the Shroud image more difficult to replicate. We also observed that it was enough to change very little value for staining intensity always superficial, but much deeper than 0.2 micrometers. 4 This is the first time that, in analogy with the Shroud image, you can paint only the "primary cell wall" of the linen fiber by radiation, a result never obtained so far in contact with chemical methods (colorants, chemical pastes, powders, acids, fumes, etc.) and approached only by a technique that uses the so-called "discharge corona effect " 5 , emitting ultraviolet light.
These results were summarized in two papers published in scientific journals in 2008 and U.S. Applied Optics Journal of Imaging Science and Technology in 2010.
With your laser how are you able to color, in a superficial way, a linen cloth after years of studies to understand the physical-chemical mechanisms?
The initial idea was to exploit the high absorption of cellulose, which makes up 75% of flax fibers , to obtain the ultraviolet coloration extremely shallow, at a thickness of micrometer or sub-micrometer. Consequently, the choice fell on the excimer laser systems because they are emitted in the ultraviolet laser with more power. We have sent pulses of ultraviolet light emitted by our excimer laser to bombard various linen fabrics, both raw and blanched, but recently produced with ancient techniques, such as the hand loom.
Not having found in the literature of experiments of staining the linen with ultraviolet laser light, we started the experiments in a blinded fashion, ranging all the laser parameters (time duration, intensity, number of consecutive pulses) in a wide range of values. This procedure took about two years to complete. At the end we managed to find the appropriate laser parameters to color cloth in a manner similar to the shroud linen, with a surprise: it is enough, in fact, a small variation of laser parameters for not getting more color.
Another effect that you got was a '"latent image", what is it?
Just below minimum intensity to generate the color, you can get an invisible color, it "appears" only after natural aging of linen about two years, or after an artificial aging achieved in a few seconds of tissue heating to 190 degrees centigrade. Again we were able to identify the main mechanisms underlying the physical-chemical generation of these latent images.
But then, based on your results, can you make the Shroud image the same size?
That it is very difficult to say. If we consider the power density of radiation that we used to get the color of one square inch of linen, to play the entire image with a single flash of light would take fourteen thousand lasers all pointed in one direction, think of an entire building full of lasers.
Ours is the last of hundreds of attempts to play, the first to have used techniques similar to the original contact with the naked eye, but very different when viewed under a microscope. In recent times it was thought to be used by both irradiation particles (protons) and by the ultraviolet radiation emitted by electrical discharges like corona or directly from laser sources, as in our case.
The results may be that you got an answer to one of the mysteries of the Shroud?
When it comes to a flash of light that can color a linen cloth similar to the shroud, it is easy to bring up the subject in view of the miracle of the resurrection . But as scientists, we only deal with events scientifically reproducible. What I can say with absolute certainty is that our result is completely reproducible in the laboratory, we have carefully checked several times. If our scientific results can open a philosophical and theological debate, those conclusions we leave to the experts of their fields, and ultimately to the conscience of each one of us.
From left to right: Daniele Murra, and Giuseppe Paolo Di Lazzaro Canopies
Credit: Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Latent tissue staining, which is evident after artificial aging (heating) or natural
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Photo of a petrographic microscope linen fiber (center) partially irradiated by excimer lasers. The areas irradiated and not irradiated by laser light are magnified in the inset the top and bottom, respectively. The irradiated part shows bright areas due to the loss of birefringence or double refraction, sign of weakness and stress and dehydration induced by laser radiation
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Optical microscope image of a linen thread (20X magnification) after excimer laser irradiation . You may notice the morphological changes of the surface structure of the fibrils similar to those observed in the fibrils of the Shroud image
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Latent effect of color. Above: linen fabric irradiated with laser intensity lower than the threshold value for the color. The right side above was heated to190 ° C for 15 seconds to get an aging (dehydration), artificial, and shows a color corresponding to the irradiated area . Below: the same fabric a year later, also shows the unheated staining after natural aging
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Linen thread after excimer laser irradiation. The fibrils are exposed to laser light yellow color
with a chromaticity similar to the shroud, while the share covered by the intertwining of the wire
weft-warp no staining
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
(1) Bilirubin is a yellow-red pigment contained in bile and is a product of hemoglobin catabolism.
(2) Ultraviolet light is invisible electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength less than visible light, but larger than that of X-ray
(3) elementary fibers having a cylindrical structure (in the case of linen) with an average length of 30 mm and average diameter of 20 micrometers. Main constituent of natural cellulosic fabrics.
(4) A micrometer equals one thousandth of a millimeter.
(5) The corona is a phenomenon whereby an electric current flowing between a conductor at high electric potential and the surrounding air, but without causing an arc. The ionized air emits visible and ultraviolet radiation.
Contacts and sources:
Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA
Curiosity is one of the main features of the scientists. In front of the Shroud image, rather than ask the question "when?" In Frascati, we wondered "how?". Some time ago we saw some pictures of the tissue under the microscope of the Shroud of Turin and we have noticed a similarity with the fibers of fabric that we had with our color lasers on behalf of some textile industries. We wondered if it was possible, with our knowledge and technology, to produce a shroud-like image, and we turned to one of the greatest Italian Shroud, Professor Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua.
What are the your experiments and what were you able to show?
The results went beyond our expectations. We have shown that a pulse of ultraviolet light 2 very short (a few billionths of a second) in a narrow range of values of energy and power density can be colored with the same chromaticity image on the Shroud linen fabric in a very superficial , in practice only the outermost layers of the single linen thread.
More precisely, each linen thread (which has a diameter of about 0.3 mm) consists of about 200 fibrils 3 . We managed to paint the first layer of fibers exposed to laser light, the so-called "primary cell wall" of linen fiber, 0.2 micrometers thick thin film surrounding the fiber, leaving the inside of the fibril is not the same color. This is one of the characteristics of the Shroud image more difficult to replicate. We also observed that it was enough to change very little value for staining intensity always superficial, but much deeper than 0.2 micrometers. 4 This is the first time that, in analogy with the Shroud image, you can paint only the "primary cell wall" of the linen fiber by radiation, a result never obtained so far in contact with chemical methods (colorants, chemical pastes, powders, acids, fumes, etc.) and approached only by a technique that uses the so-called "discharge corona effect " 5 , emitting ultraviolet light.
These results were summarized in two papers published in scientific journals in 2008 and U.S. Applied Optics Journal of Imaging Science and Technology in 2010.
With your laser how are you able to color, in a superficial way, a linen cloth after years of studies to understand the physical-chemical mechanisms?
The initial idea was to exploit the high absorption of cellulose, which makes up 75% of flax fibers , to obtain the ultraviolet coloration extremely shallow, at a thickness of micrometer or sub-micrometer. Consequently, the choice fell on the excimer laser systems because they are emitted in the ultraviolet laser with more power. We have sent pulses of ultraviolet light emitted by our excimer laser to bombard various linen fabrics, both raw and blanched, but recently produced with ancient techniques, such as the hand loom.
Not having found in the literature of experiments of staining the linen with ultraviolet laser light, we started the experiments in a blinded fashion, ranging all the laser parameters (time duration, intensity, number of consecutive pulses) in a wide range of values. This procedure took about two years to complete. At the end we managed to find the appropriate laser parameters to color cloth in a manner similar to the shroud linen, with a surprise: it is enough, in fact, a small variation of laser parameters for not getting more color.
Another effect that you got was a '"latent image", what is it?
Just below minimum intensity to generate the color, you can get an invisible color, it "appears" only after natural aging of linen about two years, or after an artificial aging achieved in a few seconds of tissue heating to 190 degrees centigrade. Again we were able to identify the main mechanisms underlying the physical-chemical generation of these latent images.
But then, based on your results, can you make the Shroud image the same size?
That it is very difficult to say. If we consider the power density of radiation that we used to get the color of one square inch of linen, to play the entire image with a single flash of light would take fourteen thousand lasers all pointed in one direction, think of an entire building full of lasers.
Ours is the last of hundreds of attempts to play, the first to have used techniques similar to the original contact with the naked eye, but very different when viewed under a microscope. In recent times it was thought to be used by both irradiation particles (protons) and by the ultraviolet radiation emitted by electrical discharges like corona or directly from laser sources, as in our case.
The results may be that you got an answer to one of the mysteries of the Shroud?
When it comes to a flash of light that can color a linen cloth similar to the shroud, it is easy to bring up the subject in view of the miracle of the resurrection . But as scientists, we only deal with events scientifically reproducible. What I can say with absolute certainty is that our result is completely reproducible in the laboratory, we have carefully checked several times. If our scientific results can open a philosophical and theological debate, those conclusions we leave to the experts of their fields, and ultimately to the conscience of each one of us.
From left to right: Daniele Murra, and Giuseppe Paolo Di Lazzaro Canopies
Credit: Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Latent tissue staining, which is evident after artificial aging (heating) or natural
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Photo of a petrographic microscope linen fiber (center) partially irradiated by excimer lasers. The areas irradiated and not irradiated by laser light are magnified in the inset the top and bottom, respectively. The irradiated part shows bright areas due to the loss of birefringence or double refraction, sign of weakness and stress and dehydration induced by laser radiation
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Optical microscope image of a linen thread (20X magnification) after excimer laser irradiation . You may notice the morphological changes of the surface structure of the fibrils similar to those observed in the fibrils of the Shroud image
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Latent effect of color. Above: linen fabric irradiated with laser intensity lower than the threshold value for the color. The right side above was heated to190 ° C for 15 seconds to get an aging (dehydration), artificial, and shows a color corresponding to the irradiated area . Below: the same fabric a year later, also shows the unheated staining after natural aging
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
Linen thread after excimer laser irradiation. The fibrils are exposed to laser light yellow color
with a chromaticity similar to the shroud, while the share covered by the intertwining of the wire
weft-warp no staining
Credit: Dr. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Excimer Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA Frascati
(1) Bilirubin is a yellow-red pigment contained in bile and is a product of hemoglobin catabolism.
(2) Ultraviolet light is invisible electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength less than visible light, but larger than that of X-ray
(3) elementary fibers having a cylindrical structure (in the case of linen) with an average length of 30 mm and average diameter of 20 micrometers. Main constituent of natural cellulosic fabrics.
(4) A micrometer equals one thousandth of a millimeter.
(5) The corona is a phenomenon whereby an electric current flowing between a conductor at high electric potential and the surrounding air, but without causing an arc. The ionized air emits visible and ultraviolet radiation.
Contacts and sources:
Laboratory of the Research Centre ENEA
0 comments:
Post a Comment