Rays and Neutrons, for Art's Sake
Eager for precision in a field notorious for ambiguity and
frustration, curators at top museums in Europe and the United States
have long reached for the instruments of nuclear science to hit
treasures of art with invisible rays. The resulting clues have helped
answer vexing questions of provenance, age and authenticity.
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Now such insights are going global. The International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations unit best known for fighting the spread of nuclear arms, is working hard to foster such methods in the developing world, letting scientists and conservators in places like Peru, Ghana and Kazakhstan act as better custodians of their cultural heritage.