Overview

With the maturation of laser technology in diagnostic and conservation applications, conservation scientists, archeologists, art historians, researchers, and advanced science-oriented students now have the tools necessary for preserving the future of our past-our cultural heritage. Presenting recent developments in the field, Lasers in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Principles and Applications addresses the basic concepts of laser applications and supplies case studies of analytical, structural diagnostic, and laser cleaning applications. The book provides a comprehensive presentation of the fundamental principles and applications of modern laser technology in the analysis of composition, diagnostics of structural integrity, and conservation of artworks and antiquities. Beginning with an introduction to the basic techniques used in art conservation and archeology, the book describes the fundamental aspects of laser-matter interactions, emphasizing laser diagnostics and laser processing applications. The next few chapters focus on laser-based spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of the composition of materials in art and archaeology, including laser-induced breakdown, Raman, and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. The book proceeds to highlight nondestructive diagnostic techniques, laser processing applications, laser applications for the cleaning of paintings and stone, and methods for the removal of encrustations. It concludes with case studies for the conservation of materials like parchment, paper, metal, ivory, and wood, and includes conservation approaches for modern paintings. Bridging science with art, Lasers in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage presents a systematic overview of the fundamentals and applications of laser techniques in artwork conservation and archeological science.

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9780367390051

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Reviews

The work's grouped and bibliographic historical presentation of the development of lasers in the field of cultural heritage, as well as the synopses and summaries are particularly useful. There is certainly also an abundance of characteristic and interesting applications. ... The contributors offer a very serious piece of fieldwork, utilising scientific experience, technological expertise, and the results of individual works on the subject in question. Overall, this is a balanced presentation. The study is excellent reading for anyone interested in the area of cultural heritage -- especially those working in the fields of conservation science, archaeology and art history -- and, of course, researchers. --Nikolaos E. Myridis, Contemporary Physics, May 2012 The book ... describes how laser parameters associated with cleaning are chosen and the physics involved in various surface ablation processes. Key conservation practices are also addressed, such as removal of black encrustation from stone, varnish from paintings, and the laser cleaning of metals and paper. It details the use and benefit of diagnostics tools such as LIBS, Raman spectroscopy, and holography. --Ed Teppo, Founder and Former President of Big Sky Laser Technologies, Inc. The book is well-written and well-organized, with many up-to-date references and an informative and comprehensive index. Both laser and artwork conservationists will find it most useful. --Dejan Pantelic, Optics & Photonics News, July/ August 2008, Vol. 19, No. 7/8 . . . succeeds in its ambitious goals of pulling together a wide range of laser-based applications in the cultural heritage field and presenting the material so that it is accessible at different levels. The authors deserve much credit for succeeding, and for providing a valuable source of information for those who have an interest in the preservation of artworks. I strongly recommend the book both to novices and to more experienced researchers. --Martin Cooper, Physics Today, December 2007

Author Information

Fotakis, Costas; Anglos, D.; Zafiropulos, V.; Georgiou, Savas; Tornari, Vivi

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