NEW & IMPORTANT: A paper from Thibault Heimburger: The Scorch Hypothesis: New Experiments, April 2014
The Turin Shroud Image is not a Scorch
NEW & IMPORTANT: A paper from Thibault Heimburger: The Scorch Hypothesis: New Experiments, April 2014
Excellent paper, Thibault. As always, very logical stepwise approach. I wanted to ask you if you managed to test some other characteristics seen in scorches on the TS. Namely, UV fluorescence and visibility in transmitted light?
Great piece and great Easter timing.
Thibault has put in some hard work here experimenting, examining and writing up his results. I may have missed it in his earlier paper, but saw no mention here concerning any pretreatment of the linen. In this regard, please see recent posts and comments particularly alvin/daveb, “Good Chemistry Questions” of April 15 and “Remember the Valencia Conference …” of April 16.
Alvin had made the point that Ray Rogers had succeeded in removing the image coloration on a TS fibre using diimide revealing an unaffected fibre underneath. The diimide had removed the image coloration but had not affected the fibre which remained intact. Rogers was therefore convinced that the chromophore lay in the starch coating, not on the PCW. He was also persuaded by this result that any kind of radiation hypothesis could not be sustained.
The further point was made that various attempts at producing coloration, whether by excimer laser, corona discharge, or scorching should therefore be carried out or repeated using Edgerton type cloth manufactured according to the ancient methods which would leave such a residual coating. If coloration of the coaing succeeded by any of these methods, then they should be treated with diimide to see whether the coloration was in fact limited to the coating, and whether the fibrils underneath remain unaffected, as was the TS sample.
Rogers had succeeded in coloring a sample of Edgerton cloth treated with dextrin and saponaria, and exposing it to ammonia for about 10 minutes. Coloration was produced within 24 hours. However it is not clear whether Rogers tested his Edgerton treated sample with diimide to see if similar results were obtained as with his TS sample.
Thibault may wish to attempt a few scorches using Edgerton cloth and then treating the results with diimide. He may also wish to see how any of his samples to date react with diimide. There is yet plenty of work to do to exclude the various imaging hypotheses.
This a very interesting paper and food for much thought. May I ask (it being relevant to my own researches just now) what the aerial density of Thibault’s cloth is?
Congratulations Thibault. Very well done
Here my compliments for your work.
— —
Now I want to ask your opinion about the hydrogen bombardment.
Do you know the hydrogen bombardment method ?
Method for selectively removing hydrogen from molecules
US 20030165635 A1 :
>… hydrogen-containing molecules are deposited on a solid substrate and
are bombarded with hydrogen projectile particles. The particles may have
energies of 5-100 eV, or more preferably 10-50 eV. The hydrogen projectile
particles remove hydrogen atoms from the deposited molecules while they are
on the substrate, without removing other atoms from the molecules. Dangling bonds
are created by the loss of hydrogen and can be used to cross-link the molecules.
The resulting product can be a nanometer-thick dense film.
Link : http://www.google.st/patents/US20030165635
What is the result for obtained from that method applied on thin layers
of linen fibrils ?
in any case hydrogen bombardment cannot break C-C bonds
(C1 signals … in XPS spectra)…
— —
Have you tried to see what happens ?
Here a link :
http://www.surfacesciencewestern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jcp11_nie.pdf
AN excerpt from the Abstract :
>A low-energy hydrogen bombardment method, without using
any chemical additives, has been designed
for fine tuning both physical and chemical properties of
molecular thin films through selectively
cleaving C–H bonds and keeping other bonds intact.
In the hydrogen bombardment process,
carbon radicals are generated during collisions between C–H bonds and hydrogen molecules carrying
∼10 eV kinetic energy. These carbon radicals induce cross-linking of neighboring molecular chains. … …
See also :
Rinaudo, J., “Protonic Model of Image Formation,” Third International Congress on the
Shroud of Turin, Turin, Italy, 5-7 June, 1998
Which is the exact difference ?
Brilliant work. As Daveb stated there is still much work to be done, but this paper does seem to put a dagger in the heat scorch hypothesis.
Of course its not a scorch. Excellent work Thibault. Thank you.
We need to see the results of a light scorch on linen with a starch coating; tested for negativity and 3-D; and then we need to see the results of treatinig it with diimide to see if the scorch can be removed leaving unaffected fibrils underneath. Simlarly for corona discharge and excimer lasers. Only by this means can these “off the wall” hypotheses be conclusively dismissed, once and for all!
The significance of examining linen prepared in the manner as that of the Shroud is a key point, one which also applies (IMO) to those hypotheses deemed to be “on the wall” as well. Given the unique superficiality of the image, this could be major. Ideally, a step by step protocol could be developed to control that cloths being tested-both on and off the wall-were as similar as possible in their surface properties.
Thank you for this didactical paper, it could help non scientific readers understand why the TS is not a scorch.
We need a table containing values of heat capacity for : cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, lignin …
What a wonderful Easter gift from Dr. Thibault Heimburger!
I was eagerly waiting his new work on the infamous scorch hypothesis now I’ll have the pleasure to read it carefully .
congratulations and many thanks to Dr. Thibault Heimburger
Antero de Frias Moreira
(Centro Português de Sindonologia)
The body image is neither a scorch nor a dye. It is a ‘pre-mordancing’ to be studied in light of an ancient Judean purification rite.
A ‘pre-mordancing’ in conjunction with ‘body-pressing’ AND gradual cloth-to-body pressure release.
…as the alkali-solution in-soaked fabric got sort of taut again through drying out as the tightly-wrapped-up stiff rigid body was resting on its right side and extra height (on two raised stones or piles of granulized myrrh bags).
Unlike e.g. cloth herbals produced in the 1940s that are supposedly only now beginning to develop the imprints made in those years (see prof. Volkringer), the TS image developed on burial right away through fumigation acting as ‘ageing agent’.
Re the use of fumigation/burning aromatic woods/spices in ancient Jewish/Judean funerary rites see 2 Chronicles 16:14 – 21:19 Targum.
Yes, this is s simple as that.
It’s an interesting hypothesis Max but if it is such a simple process why do we not see evidence of the method having been used more than once (on a human body)?
David, a simple process doesn’t equate to a current practice. Corpse fumigation is not current at all. It was mostly for kings and practiced in some specific circumstances. Besides burial cloths were/are not used to be kept as memorials but were/are left to decay with the body.
The true fact is Christianism is a mystery religion and as such conservative Christians and authenticists are reluctant for the TS enigma to be solved. They (whether unconsciously or consciously) prefer the relic to remain a mystery i.e. on the same foot as Incarnation, Holy Trinity and Resurrection, which totally biases their observations.
In other words, the TS corpse was chemically (by alkalis), physically (fumigation) and biologically (burial) disinfected.
So the resultant image was then an ‘accident’ produced by these processes and something that interrupted the otherwise usual process of decay.
…a providential accident that allows the TS man’s front and back image to be recorded for posterity. The usual process of decay was delayed.
…only delayed. The odd thing is it was kept as a memorial to this day, which implies the TS man did not stay very long tightly wrapped up in his shrouds. Was his body stolen? Did anything supernatural/extraordinary happen for the inner shroud to be kept as material memento? It is said Yeshua himself gave his shroud to the (High) Priest’s auxiliary/servant (John Mark as Hanan’s assistant scribe?).
BTW John Mark can be identified with Lazarus (who was given a new name after his own coming back to life)
Most probably John (as YoHanan/Yonathan) was one of Hanan’s sons.