Abstract of paper for the IASC conference "ELECTRONIC SAFEGUARDING: USE OF MICROWAVE"
Generally preventive conservation is supposed as the safeguarding as well as increasing the age of collection by the use of different means and measures, before it starts deteriorating. It is well known that insects are the greatest threat for the museum collection specifically of biological origin.
I focus on the dry stuff of biological origin for the preventive conservation in museum collections. Here dry stuff means wood, thick paper, hard leather, tough bark etc. Till date only chemicals are used for pest control yet but none of the instrument could be manufactured for the prevention of collection from the insects. Due to tremendous development in technology, in the coming future museums would be using more sophisticated and effective electronic instruments for better collection care, than present. No doubt, experiments done with gamma radiation give some hope but the results were not satisfactory. Main problem with the use of gamma radiation is that it has extreme of energy which could destroy the molecular structure of material. This was the reason that they are not used as a preventive measure for insect control. Apart from gamma rays there is another type of radiation which is able to kill the insects, even if they are inside any dry object, it would be especially effective for the biologically derived object, with almost minimum harmful effect. Here I am talking about microwaves. At present use of microwave in museums for object prevention from insects is a concept only and need a thorough research for development of instruments and establishment of parameters for its use.
Most of us are aware of qualities and use of microwaves. These are low wavelength, high frequency, high energy electromagnetic waves which have a different impact on fluid and liquid as well.
During decade of 40s, scientists at the Bell Telephone Laboratories (U.S.A.) discovered microwave radiation that bathes the earth from all directions in space. It is supposed that cosmic microwave radiation is the afterglow of the Big Bang. Dr. Percy Le Baron Spencer in 1946 invented heating characteristic of microwave during World War II while working with a prototype magnetron or microwave generator. Till now we think that microwave has same heating impact on material, but exactly it is not true. No doubt microwaves have heating effect but differentially on different stuff. The quality of this differential heating can be used in museums for insect control.
I focus on the dry stuff of biological origin for the preventive conservation in museum collections. Here dry stuff means wood, thick paper, hard leather, tough bark etc. Till date only chemicals are used for pest control yet but none of the instrument could be manufactured for the prevention of collection from the insects. Due to tremendous development in technology, in the coming future museums would be using more sophisticated and effective electronic instruments for better collection care, than present. No doubt, experiments done with gamma radiation give some hope but the results were not satisfactory. Main problem with the use of gamma radiation is that it has extreme of energy which could destroy the molecular structure of material. This was the reason that they are not used as a preventive measure for insect control. Apart from gamma rays there is another type of radiation which is able to kill the insects, even if they are inside any dry object, it would be especially effective for the biologically derived object, with almost minimum harmful effect. Here I am talking about microwaves. At present use of microwave in museums for object prevention from insects is a concept only and need a thorough research for development of instruments and establishment of parameters for its use.
Most of us are aware of qualities and use of microwaves. These are low wavelength, high frequency, high energy electromagnetic waves which have a different impact on fluid and liquid as well.
During decade of 40s, scientists at the Bell Telephone Laboratories (U.S.A.) discovered microwave radiation that bathes the earth from all directions in space. It is supposed that cosmic microwave radiation is the afterglow of the Big Bang. Dr. Percy Le Baron Spencer in 1946 invented heating characteristic of microwave during World War II while working with a prototype magnetron or microwave generator. Till now we think that microwave has same heating impact on material, but exactly it is not true. No doubt microwaves have heating effect but differentially on different stuff. The quality of this differential heating can be used in museums for insect control.
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