Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: NASA TECHNOLOGY HELPS SMITHSONIAN PRESERVE THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER



Harald,
You (and the rest) might be interested in the details of the
plans for the Star Spangled Banner preservation. One of the prof's here
at Tennessee is on the team. Here is an e-mail he sent out earlier in
the semester to recruit any interested parties.
To answer your question: I guess it is possible to pick up the
areas of excess oil paint on the license plate to get the number. But
back in the '50's with simple license plates this could work (not sure)
but today with all the fancy designs on licence plates, it would be much
harder.

Sam Held



Subject: UTK PARTICIPATION IN THE MILLENNIUM PROJECT AT THE sMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY


*********For immediate internal release: ****************************

From: William E. Blass
Professor of Physics, UTK

Re: Smithsonian Institution Project for the Preservation of the Star
Spangled Banner - a project supported by the Smithsonian Institution and
the Millennium Council

Professor Bill Blass of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and The
Division of Information Infrastructure is a member of a team of
scientists
who will be participating in the Smithsonian Institution Project for the
Preservation of the Star Spangled Banner. The team is sponsored by
Goddard
Space Flight Center and is led by Dr. John J. Hillman, Senior Scientist,
Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics, NASA/GSFC.

The NASA team will be carrying out hyperspectral infrared imaging of the
flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words to the Star
Spangled Banner upon seeing this very flag flying over Fort McHenry
after
a ferocious naval bombardment of the fort in the War of 1812. The
purpose
of the infrared imaging of the Star Spangled Banner is to identify
specific high risk sections of the flag which the Smithsonian
Institution
Conservation team led by Dr. Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss will pay
particular
attention to in their conservation efforts over the next several years.
In
particular, regions on the wool flag which are contaminated by excess
moisture and thus at risk for photo-chemical processes which damage the
integrity of the flag will be identified as will regions contaminated by
non-polar oils from various sources since the War of 1812.

The imaging team includes Drs. John Hillman and Dave Glenar, Cheryl
Vorvick and Chuck Peruso at Goddard, Dr. Nancy Chanover of New Mexico
State University in Las Cruces, Dr. Bill Blass of the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville, and Dr. Jeff Goldstein of the Challenger Center
for Space Science Education.

Contact Ms. Zoye Hoyle, Research Office for further information.