Smithsonian Plans LED-Spangled Banner
The 40-ft. x 32-ft. American flag at Fort McHenry in 1814 was made just a few years after the dawn of the incandescent lamp, and now Smithsonian preservationists intend to protect it further with modern LED technology.
Best known as the Star-Spangled Banner, because of the Francis Scott Key poem that became the national anthem, the flag will return to public display when the National Museum of American History completes its renovation in summer 2008. The new gallery being constructed is airtight, has no electricity inside because of the fire risk, and will display the flag at a 10 degrees horizontal angle with just a few foot-candles of illumination because of the tattered fibers and the exhibit’s somber tone.
So it’s the quality, not the quantity, of illumination that caused Smithsonian managers to embark on the exhibit illumination project several years ago. The plan calls for using digital projectors with metal halide lamps until light-emitting diodes are ready. If the LEDs are ready in time, then they’ll be used from the start, but the project won’t be rushed due to the flag’s historical importance.
“Where this all stemmed from is the desire to limit the amount of energy from light going into the flag... We're fearful of anything that can cause chemical reactions within the fibers,” project manager Jeffrey Brodie explained. For example, in the conservation lab that's doubled as a public exhibit since 1998, there are fluorescent lamps along the edges of the wall to avoid shining directly on the flag, chief conservator Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss said....
Read entire article at ECNmag.com
Best known as the Star-Spangled Banner, because of the Francis Scott Key poem that became the national anthem, the flag will return to public display when the National Museum of American History completes its renovation in summer 2008. The new gallery being constructed is airtight, has no electricity inside because of the fire risk, and will display the flag at a 10 degrees horizontal angle with just a few foot-candles of illumination because of the tattered fibers and the exhibit’s somber tone.
So it’s the quality, not the quantity, of illumination that caused Smithsonian managers to embark on the exhibit illumination project several years ago. The plan calls for using digital projectors with metal halide lamps until light-emitting diodes are ready. If the LEDs are ready in time, then they’ll be used from the start, but the project won’t be rushed due to the flag’s historical importance.
“Where this all stemmed from is the desire to limit the amount of energy from light going into the flag... We're fearful of anything that can cause chemical reactions within the fibers,” project manager Jeffrey Brodie explained. For example, in the conservation lab that's doubled as a public exhibit since 1998, there are fluorescent lamps along the edges of the wall to avoid shining directly on the flag, chief conservator Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss said....