Synchrotron

The Smithsonian and Synchrotron Soleil Join to Analyze Antiquities,
Cultural Heritage Materials June 11, 2010

The Smithsonian Institution and Synchrotron Soleil of France
announced a new partnership between the organizations to use the
power of the third-generation synchrotron to study and preserve
priceless collections at the Smithsonian. This is the first
partnership between the Institut Photonique d'Analyse
Non-destructive Europeen des Materiaux Anciens platform at Soleil
and the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute.

A synchrotron is a particle accelerator

    <URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_accelerator>

that produces brilliant beams of light (10,000 times brighter than
sunlight) that can be used for scientific analysis. Soleil is an
acronym for "source optimisee de lumiere d'energie intermediaire du
lure"

The Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute is a scientific
research unit of the Smithsonian that conducts research on
collections and their preservation.  The announcement was made
during the signing of a memorandum of understanding June 10 by the
French Minister for Higher Education and Research Valerie Pecresse
and the Smithsonian's Under Secretary for Science Eva J. Pell. The
signing took place at the Ministry of Higher Education and Research
in Paris.

The joint programs will include exchange of staff and fellows,
collaborative research using the synchrotron platforms, development
of advanced methods, and joint seminars, workshops and meetings. The
first project, with research scheduled to begin in June, will
examine the fading of Prussian blue, the first modern pigment
accidentally discovered at the beginning of the 18th century. A
favorite of 19th-century painters, artisans and manufacturers
because it was both stable and cheap, the dye was ubiquitous in the
period's wallpapers, textiles, stamps, cosmetics and early
photographs. It is the blue in architectural blueprints. However,
the pigment is subject to fading under special conditions because of
its unique electronic and magnetic properties. Study at the
synchrotron will examine the fading of Prussian blue at the nano
scale.

   "We welcome Soleil into this great partnership, and we look
    forward to working with their highly qualified staff as we
    intensively study the material characteristics of cultural
    heritage," said Robert J. Koestler, director of the
    Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute whose staff will be
    conducting experiments at Soleil this summer.

   "The convergence of disciplines is a key challenge and this
    common action of a large-scale facility and a most prominent
    cultural and research institution is a concrete and very
    positive outcome" said Michel van der Rest, CEO of Synchrotron
    Soleil.

For more information about Synchrotron Soleil visit

    <URL:>http://www.synchrotron-soleil.fr/


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:4
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